AGRICULTURE 

FOR, 

COMMON SCHOOLS 



FISHER AND COTTON 




CopyiightN".. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



AGRICULTURE 
FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



AGRICULTURE 
FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



BY 
MARTIN L. FISHER 

Associate Professor of Agronomy in the College of Agriculture and Associate Agriculturist 
jn the Experimental Station, Purdue University, 

AND 

FASSETT A. COTTON 

President of State Normal School, La Crosse, Wis. 



WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS 



CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
NEW YORK:::::::::::::::::::::::::1909 






Copyright. 1909, by 
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 



rr A 24 72^2 
SEP 13 1909 




G^Oal''\W 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The authors wish to acknowledge their obligations for 
valuable criticisms and suggestions to the following members 
of the faculty of Purdue University: J. H. Skinner, Dean and 
Professor of Animal Husbandry; W. C. Latta, Professor of 
Agriculture and Superintendent of Farmers' Institutes; James 
Troop, Professor of Entomology and Horticulture; A. T. 
Wiancko, Professor of Agronomy; O. F. Hunziker, Professor 
of Dairying; W. W. Smith, Assistant Professor of Animal 
Husbandry; S. D. Conner, Instructor in Agricultural Chem- 
istry; and Otis Crane, Instructor in Poultry. Thanks are 
also due to Miss Sarah E. Cotton, State Department Public 
Instruction, Indianapolis, Ind. 

Credit for cuts loaned is given either in connection with the 
illustrations or in the List of Illustrations, for all of which the 
authors feel themselves deeply oblige^. 

1 I M. L. Fisher. 

F. A. Cotton. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Acknowledgments. v 

List of Illustrations . . . , xi 

Introduction , xix 

SECTION I— SOILS 

CHAPTER 

I. The Origin of the Soil 1 

II. The Make-up of the Soil 9 

III. Physical Properties of Soils .... 15 

IV. Drainage and Irrigation 24 

V. Handling the Soil 34 

VI. Farm Manures . . . * . . . .49 

VII. Commercial Fertilizers 55 

SECTION II— FARM CROPS 

VIIL Classification of Farm Crops .... 64 

IX. Corn . .67 

X. Wheat 80 

XI. Other Cereals 88 

XII. Roots, Tubers, Bulbs 96 

XIII. Forage Crops ........ 105 

XIV. Other Farm Crops 121 

XV. Seed Selection 129 

XVI. Rotations 133 

vii 



VIU 



CONTENTS 
SECTION III— HORTICULTURE 



CHAPTEK 




PAGE 


XVII. 


I. Pomology 


. 137 


XVIII. 


Propagation of the Fruits .... 


140 


XIX. 


Tillage 


146 


XX. 


Se'iting the Orchard and Caring for it . 


149 


XXI. 


The Fruits 


155 


XXII. 


II. Olericulture or Vegetable Growing . 


166 


XXIII. 


Raising Plants 


169 


XXIV. 


Some of the Common Vegetables 


173 


XXV. 


III. Landscape Gardening .... 


181 


XXVI. 


Plants that May be Used .... 


185 


XXVII. 


Insects — Injurious and Beneficial 


189 


XXVIII. 


Controlling Insects 


200 


XXIX. 


Plant Diseases and Their Treatment 


207 



SECTION IV— ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 
XXX. Farm Animals: I — The Horse 
XXXI. Farm Animals: II — Cattle . 
XXXII. Farm Animals: III — Sheep and Goats 

XXXIII. Farm Animals: IV — Swine . . . . 

XXXIV. The Breeding of Live Stock 

XXXV. Some Terms Used in Live Stock Breeding 

XXXVI. The Feeding of Animals . . . . 

XXXVII. Balanced Rations and Feeding Standards . 

XXXVIII. Selecting Animals AND Methods OF Feeding . 



. 213 

. 227 

. 243 

. 257 

. 267 

. 272 

. 274 

. 281 

. 283 



CONTENTS IX 
SECTION V— DAIRYING 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXXIX. Dairying 290 

XL. Composition and Qualities of Milk . . . 294 

XLI. Producing Good Milk 299 

XLII. Butter-Making 310 

XLIII. Milk Products, Other than Butter . . . 319 

XLIV. Testing Milk 325 

XLV. About Bees 330 

XLVI. Poultry 339 

XLVII. Care of Poultry 348 

Appendix A ....... . 356 

Appendix B . . . . . . . .360 

Appendix C 363 

Index 375 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

1. Land Damaged by Washing ...... 7 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

2. Plowing by Steam . . '. 18 

Plowing by steam has become a popular method on many large 
farms, especially in the West and North-west. 
By courtesy of the Rural New Yorker, N. Y. 

3. Crop Failure Due to Lack of Drainage ... 26 

By courtesy of Prof. G. I. Christie, Purdue University. 

4. A Walking Breaking Plow ...... 35 

By courtesy of the Oliver Chilled Plow Works, South Bend, Ind. 

5. A Subsoil Plow 37 

By courtesy of the Oliver Chilled Plow Works, South Bend, Ind. 

G. A Good Job of Plowing ....... 40 

A reversible plow is being used. 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

7. A Disk Harrow at Work 42 

By courtesy of the American Harrow Co., Detroit, Mich. 

8. The Root System of a Corn Plant .... 45 

One of these large roots cut off in cultivating means much loss of 
moisture and food to the plant. 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

9. A Two-Row Corn Cultivator 47 

By courtesy of The Avery Co., Peoria, III. 

0. Using a Manure Spreader ...... 52 

Spread in this way manure gives best results. 
By courtesy of the Smith Mfg. Co., 158 E. Harrison Street, Chicago, III. 

1. Result of Using Fertilizers on Wheat ... 56 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 
xi 



Xll ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

12. Applying Lime to Land with a Special Machine . 62 

By courtesy of the Ohio Experiment Station. 

13. Putting in Shock is a Good Way to Save the Corn 

Fodder Until it is Ready to be Shredded . . 68 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

14. A Harrow Tooth Cultivator 72 

A good tool for preserving a soil mulch in tall com. 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

15. Two Good Ways to Dry Seed Corn .... 75 

The upper picture shows the seed ears hung to rafters of the 
tool shed; the lower picture shows racks made of lath and 
six-inch boards. Every farmer can use one or the other of 
these schemes. 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

16. Testing Vitality of Corn — ^This is One of the Good 

Methods 76 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

17. Good Seed Ears 78 

Notice the cylindrical shape, straight rows, uniform kernels, and 
well-formed butts and tips. 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

18. Poor Seed Ears 78 

Notice that these ears show characteristics just opposite to 
those in the cut above. 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

19. An Onion Field 103 

A harvesting scene in an Indiana field. 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

20. The Large Root System of the Clover Plant . . 108 

Showing the large number of nodules on the roots. It is these 
that make the clover plant so beneficial to the soil. 
By courtesy of the U. S. Department of Agriculture — Bureau of Plant 
Industry. 

21. A Cow-Pea Plant 110 

Some varieties produce more vines than this one. 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

22. A Typical Soy-Bean Plant 112 

Notice the nodules at the base of the plant and on the .roots. 
These are full of bacteria which gather nitrogen from the air. 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 



ILLUSTRATIONS Xlll 

PAGE 

23. A Plot of German Millet Ready to Cut for Hay . 114 

This patch was about five feet tall and made four tons of hay 
per acre. 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

24. Filling a Silo 116 

This is one of the best methods of preserving the com crop. 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

25. Sorghum for Green Feed 118 

This field made eleven tons per acre of green feed. 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

26. Methods of Grafting 143 

By courtesy of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. 

27. A Basket of Fine Peaches 147 

The large size and uniformity were secured by judicious thinning. 
By courtesy of the Ohio Experiment Station. 

28. A Planting Board 151 

An easy device for setting trees in line. 

29. A Scene in an Indiana Apple Orchard . . . 156 

One hundred and seventy acres are set in apples, principally 
Yellow Transparent, Grimes' Golden, Rome Beauty, Jona- 
than, Winesap, and Genet. 
By courtesy of the Indiana Horticultural Society. 

30. Hot-Beds Used for Starting Early Plants . . . 170 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

31. A Basket of Choice Muskmelons Raised in Southern 

Indiana . 176 

Notice the finely netted rinds. 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

32. An Attractive Country Residence .... 182 

Many homes could be made attractive by the planting of flowers, 
shrubs, and trees. 

The home of K. E. Morgan, Otsego, N. Y. 

33. San Jose Scale on Bark (much enlarged) . . . 191 

Notice the peculiar shell-like covering of the insect. One must 
use a magnifying glass to identify the scale. 
By courtesy of the Ohio Experiment Station. 



34. A Curculio Catcher 193 

The insects are jarred on to the sheet and then swept into a 

bucket and killed. 
By courtesy of the New York iCprmU) Experiment Station. 



XIV ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

35. The Peach Tree Borer and Its Work . . . '. 194 

Masses of gum at base of tree infested with borers. 

The adult insects. 

Larvae on a trunk that has been injured. 

By courtesy of the New York {Cornell) Experiment Station. 

36. A Parasitic Insect 201 

This one destroys tree borers. 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

37a. Results of Spraying 203 

The crop of one tree. The large pile is good fruit; the small pile 
poor. 

By courtesy of the Ohio Experiment Station. 

376. Results of Not Spraying 204 

The crop of one tree. The piles of good and poor fruit are about 
equal in this case. 

By courtesy of the Ohio Experiment Station. 

38. A Power Sprayer Used in the Orchard at Purdue 

University 205 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

39. A Potato Sprayer for Bugs and Blights . . 210 

This kind is useful in large fields. 
By courtesy of The Goulds Mfg. Co., Seneca Falls, N. Y. 

40. Marindas (62414) 42696 214 

A prize winning Percheron imported from France. 

By courtesy of McLaughlin Bros., Columbus, Ohio. 

41. Royal Prince, First Prize Three- Year-Old Clydesdale 

Stallion ... 215 

International Live Stock Show, Chicago, December, 1908. 
By courtesy of Alex. Galbraith & Son, Dekalb, III. 

42. Minno 3577, a Champion German Coach Stallion . . 219 

By courtesy of J. Crouch & Son, Lafayette, Ind. 

43. Aiken Dillon, a Typical Roadster . . . 221 

Owned by G. R. Cooke, Trenton, N. J. 

44. Shetland Pony, General Shafter . . . . 224 

A prize winner at many State Fairs. 

By courtesy of Charles E. Bunn, Peoria, III. 

45. Imported Merry Hampton 228 

A typical Shorthorn. 

By courtesy of The Farmer's Voice, Chicago, III. 



ILLUSTRATIONS XV 

PAGE 

46. A Typical Show Herd of Hereford Cattle . . . 230 

By courtesy of The Breeder's Gazette, Chicago, III. 

47. Lucy's Prince, 46181 231 

Typical Angus Bull, three times champion of his breed at Chicago 
International Live Stock Shows. 

Owned by D. Bradfute & Son, Xenia, Ohio. 

48. Hood Farm Pogis 9th, 55552. A Typical Jersey Bull 234 

By courtesy of Hood Farm, Lowell, Mass. 

49. Dolly Dimple, 19144 Adv. R 236 

A typical Gaernsey cow. Two-year-old record — 14,009 pounds 
milk; 703 ppunds butter-fat in one year, being the world's 
record for age of all breeds. 
By courtesy of Lincoln B. Wells, Langwater Farms, North Easton, Mass 

50. Holstein-Friesian Cow, Aagie Cornucopia Pauline, 

48426 237 

Champion butter cow of the world from 1904 to 1907. Record 
— 659 pounds milk, 34 pounds 5.2 ounces butter in 7 days 
at the age of 4 years 11 months. 

By courtesy of D. W. Field, Dutchland Farms, Montello, Mass. 

51. A Group of Dutch Belted Cattle in Pasture . . 239 

Part of the herd of G. G. Gibbs, Marksboro, N. J. 
By courtesy of The Practical Dairyman. 

52. English Shorthorn Cow, Tulip Leaf, Owned by Lord 

Rothschild, Tring Park, England . . . 241 

Record — 10,502 pounds of milk in one year when 11 years old. 
She is a good specimen of the dual-purpose breeds. 
By courtesy of C. N. Arnett, Purdue University. 

53. A Typical Cotswold 244 

Owned by Alex. W. Arnold, Galesville, Wis. 

By courtesy of The Farmer's Voice, Chicago, III. 

54. A Shropshire, an Excellent Specimen of the Mutton 

AND Wool Type 246 

Note the blocky, compact form. 
By courtesy of G. H. Davison, Altamont Stock Farm, Milbrook, N. Y. 

55- Dorset Horn Sheep 250 

By courtesy of C. E. Hamilton, Heart's Delight Farm, Chazy, N. Y. 

56. A Rambouillet Sheep ....... 252 

Notice that the form is less smooth and compact than in the 
mutton type. 

By courtesy of Daniel W. Lesh, Markle, Ind. 



XVI ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

57. Wensleydale Ewes in Pasture 253 

This is becoming a very popular breed in England. 

By courtesy of C. N. Arnett, Purdue University. 

58. Angora Goats 254 

By courtesy of George A. Philippi, Welcome, Wis. 

59. A Typical Berkshire 258 

By courtesy of A. J. Lovejoy & Son, Roscoe, III. 

60. Nora P., 160,484, a Typical Poland-China . . 260 

Owned by Purdue University. 

Photo by C. N. Arnett, Purdue University. 

61. Stark-Advance, 23,477 262 

Chester White. 

By courtesy of C. G. Fisher & Co., Collinsville, Ohio. 

62. Summer Hill Colston Eclipse 2nd, 4,232 . . . 265 

The large Yorkshire, a type of the bacon breeds. Note the long 
deep sides. 
Owned by Thomas H. Canfield, Lake Park, Minn. 

63. Fyvie Knight, a Pure-bred Angus .... 276 

Grand Champion fat steer at International Live Stock Show, 
Chicago, December, 1908. 

By courtesy of Purdue University. 

64. A High-Grade Steer in "Feeder" Condition . . 284 

He made a daily gain of 3.08 pounds for six months in a feeding 
experiment. 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 

65. A Poor Type of Steer for Feeding Purposes . . 285 

This steer made a daily gain of .77 pounds for six months in a 
feeding experiment. Compare the form of this steer with 
that in Fig. 64. 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

66. This is a Type of the Modern Dairy Barn, Fitted for 

THE Production of Clean Milk 291 

Notice the possibilities for sunlight and ventilation. The cement 
floors aid in cleanliness. 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 



67. A Profitable Herd of Dairy Cows .... 292 

This herd made an average yearly record of 259.6 pounds of 
butter-fat per cow. 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 



ILLUSTRATIONS xvil 

PAGE 

Unfavorable Conditions for the Production of Clean 
AND Healthful Milk 301 

During the cold months many milch cows are stabled in bams 
no better than this one. 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

An Unkempt Dairy Cow 302 

Clean milk cannot be produced from cows kept in this condition. 
By courtesy of the Illinois Experiment Station. 

Washing the Udder before Beginning to Milk . . 303 

By courtesy of the Illinois Experiment Station. 

A Milking Machine at Work ...... 304 

Many large dairies are using these machines. They lessen the 
labor of milking and keep the milk clean. The machine ia 
operated by compressed air. 
By courtesy of D. H. Burrell & Co., Little Falls, N. Y. 

This Cut Shows the Effectiveness of each of the Four 
Methods of Separating the Cream .... 305 

Note the small loss where the centrifugal separator is used, 
shown by the print at the left. 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station. 

A Good Kind of Milk Cooler and Aerator , . 307 

The milk is poured into the top and runs out of small holes, 
spreading over the surface of the lower part in which is ice- 
water. 
By courtesy of The Champion Milk Cooler Co., Cortland, N. Y. 

Where Much Milk is Bottled for City Delivery, a 
Machine which will Fill Several Bottles at One 
Operation is Desirable 308 

This one fills four quart and five pint bottles at one time. 
By courtesy of Rice & Adams, Buffalo, N. Y. 

A Lever Butter-Worker 317 

By courtesy of the Wisconsin College of Agriculture. 

A Babcock Milk Tester and Testing Outfit . . 326 

By courtesy of The Creamery Package Mfg. Co., Chicago, III. 

Location of Apiary 331 

The trees give shade and the fence and buildings protect from 
winds. 
By courtesy of The A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio. 

Showing Queen, Worker, and Drone .... 332 

By courtesy of The A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio. 

A Mass of Honey-comb 334 

By courtesy of The A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio. 



XVlll ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

80. A Modern Bee-Hive and its Parts . . . 335 

By courtesy of The A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio. 

81. An Apiary in Winter Quarters . ... 336 

By courtesy of The A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio. 

82. Hiving a Swarm of Bees 337 

By courtesy of The A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio. 

83. Plymouth Rock Cock and Pullet 340 

Owned by U. R. Fishel, Hope, Ind. 

84. A Rhode Island Red 341 

Bred and owned by B. H. Scranton, Rising Sun, Ind. 

85. Buff Cochin 342 

Contrast the Cochin with Plymouth Rock and Rhode Island Red. 
By courtesy of Arthur R. Sharp, Boston, Mass. 

86. Prize-Winning Brown Leghorn Hen .... 343 

Owned by Sophia C. & Lee Pitchlynn, Washington, D. C. 

87. A Buff Orpington Hen 344 

By courtesy of Will H. Schadt, Goshen, Ind. 

88. A Pair of Pekin Ducks 345 

By courtesy of George C. Wells, Farina, III. 

89. A Toulouse Gander 345 

First Prize at Madison Square Garden, New York City, Poultry 

Show. 
By courtesy of Webster A. J. Kuney, Seneca Falls, N. Y. 

90. A Bronze Turkey 346 

By courtesy of E. W . Ringwood, Oxford, Ohio. 

91. An Incubator 349 

By courtesy of Cyphers Incubator Co., Buffalo, N. Y. 

92. The Laying and Breeding House Used at the Maine 

Experiment Station for Experimental Work with 
Poultry 350 

By courtesy of the Maine Experiment Station. 

93. This Dozen of Black Minorca Eggs Won the First 

Prize at the Lebanon, Ind., Egg Show, 1908. They 

Weighed 32J Ounces 352 

By courtesy of Otis Crane, Lebanon, Ind. 



INTRODUCTION 

While it is not the province of the pubHc schools, as at 
present organized, to teach the trades, it is their privilege and 
their duty to put the child in intelligent touch with the life 
about him and to use all of the means at hand in the process 
of education. 

Much has been said about the tendency among boys to 
leave the farm for the town, and many attempts at explana- 
tion and justification have been made. While it is perfectly 
proper for the boy to leave his father's farm and seek his 
fortune in a crowded city, sometimes he has gone with the 
mistaken notion that he could substitute wit for work in life's 
contest, or because of a lack of appreciation of the dignity of 
labor. Sometimes, also, he has gone because he has failed to 
see his opportunities on the farm. The fact that he has not 
always bettered his condition has suggested a possibility of 
bringing about at least a more intelligent consideration of the 
question. 

With the lessening of distance between town and country 
by telephone, interurbans, rural routes, with the conveniences 
of life brought to the very door of the farmer, with much of 
the drudgery of farm life removed by machinery, it looks as 
though the tide might turn from town to country, or at least 
as though the exodus from the farm might be stayed. 



XX INTRODUCTION 

AGRICULTURE THE DOMINANT INTEREST 

An essential factor in education, which for the most part 
has been overlooked, is to be found in the environment of the 
child. One's power of interpretation is bounded by his ex- 
perience, and yet we have gone on trying to fit a strange 
world down on to the child. We have expected him in some 
way or other to understand language and solve problems that 
are entirely foreign to him. This is neither good pedagogy 
nor good common sense. The school work must be based upon 
what the child brings to school with him. His life, his home, 
his vocabulary, his experience in the shop, in the quarry, on 
the farm, must furnish the concrete illustrations of the truth 
to be taught. It is the thing about which the child knows 
that interests him and that becomes the best means of inter- 
pretation. 

The teacher, therefore, must be a student of community life 
as well as of text-books. He must be familiar with the insti- 
tutions and interests of the community. He must know what 
the children know, how they think, and in what terms they 
express themselves. 

Any new truth which the child gets must be related to what 
he already knows. The closer the teacher gets to the real ex- 
perience of the child the more likely he is to awaken a live in- 
terest. In a rural community agriculture is the dominant 
industry. It determines the modes of life, the ways of think- 
ing, and the basis of comparison. Therefore the problems in 
arithmetic can be more readily comprehended if they are 
cast in terms of the farm. The dominant industry or interest 
is the key that must unlock new truth. 

Arithmetical truth must be cast in the concretest terms 



INTRODUCTION XXI 

possible. A little local coloring often takes the problem at 
once out of the realm of the strange. The actual market price 
of a commodity, with the actual amount bought or sold by an 
actual person, may transfer a problem from text to life. 
Language work becomes at once interesting if based upon 
actual experience. The child cannot write on abstract 
themes, but he can tell what he knows and he can be taught 
to tell this well. In geography it is the things about him that 
interest him, and through these alone he can interpret things 
that are foreign. With the presentation of every lesson the 
skilful teacher will seek the things at hand that may be the 
best media of interpretation. 

Of course this calls for a complete knowledge of the 
community. The teacher should know the district in every 
detail — its extent in every direction ; its earth facts, such as 
streams, hills, valleys; its farms; its houses; its acreage in 
wheat, corn, and oats; its officers, and its religious life. 
These things he can use in his work to great advantage, 
in concrete application of the principles he is trying to 
teach. If he knows something of agriculture his work in a 
rural community will be much easier. If his knowledge is 
scientific, so much the better. Certainly he cannot hope to 
deal in an [intelligent way with the problems of a community 
with which he is unacquainted. 

DIGNIFY WORK AND CREATE RESPECT FOR INDUSTRY 

But aside from making the work concrete the dominant 
community interest may be made to serve another purpose. 
It may dignify work in general by creating respect for the in- 
dustry in particular. Somehow the things at hand are not 



XXU INTRODUCTION 

appreciated. Farm life is not attractive to the boys and girls, 
and they turn their eyes toward the city. The occupations of 
the fathers do not appeal to the sons. There is a belief that 
something better is to be found, and so there is a lack of 
respect for the calling of the father. Furthermore, there is a 
lack of respect for manual labor and a belief that education 
can make it possible to live without work. As most of the 
boys and girls will be compelled to work with their hands, 
they should be taught early that labor is honorable and that 
idleness is disgraceful. By using the dominant industry the 
teacher can create a respect for it and at the same time show 
its possibilities. It can be shown that brain and muscle can 
accomplish just as much on the farm as in the city and that 
the chances for success are greater. It may not be the prov- 
ince of the public school to teach any trade or industry as 
such, but it is the province of the school to teach the boys and 
girls how to work and to put them in the path of honest living. 
This is the furpose of the work in agriculture. 

SUGGESTED COURSE 

The work offered in ithis text is intended for the children 
in the seventh and eighth grades and in the first and second 
years in the high schools. The text may be used to advant- 
age as a reader in the sixth grade. When the course of 
study is too crowded the work may be taken three or four 
times a week, supplementary to nature study, or it may be 
taken before or after school. 

This is a suggestion of what may be done by live teachers 
in the district schools and in the country and town graded 
schools. The work should be done in connection with arith- 



INTRODUCTION XXUl 

metic, spelling, language, geography, etc. These suggestions 
carefully worked out in the grades indicated, followed by a 
study of this book, will put the children in sympathetic touch 
with the community; it will inspire them with respect for 
honest labor of all kinds, and show them that there is a de- 
mand for brains on the farm. 

For an application of the principles above discussed the 
teacher is referred to the section, ^^ Education and Agricidt- 
ure," in the Appendix. 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON 
SCHOOLS 

SECTION I— SOILS 

CHAPTER I 
THE ORIGIN OF THE SOIL 

In a study of agriculture the soil should first claim our 
attention. It is the foundation of all our study. Should we 
study farm crops we need to know what kind of soil is suited 
to each and how it should be handled to get good results. 
When we study the growing of fruits and vegetables we are 
interested in knowing, first of all, what kind of soil is best for 
each. In dealing with animals we are concerned about their 
food and that brings us back to the soil in which the plants 
producing the food were raised. 

Making Soil. — 1. Weathering. — We have learned from 

our geographies that at one time early in the history of the 

Earth it was a mass of melted matter. After a time it 

began to cool, and the outside of the ball hardened into 

rock. The seasons kept on changing, the rain descended 

and the temperature varied from time to time. The changes 

were more than the solid rock could stand and it began to 

crumble. Soil was formed. The action of the air and the 

weather upon the earth crust is called weathering. The 

1 



2 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

weathering of rocks has been the source of most of what we 
call soil. This process is still going on. The small pieces of 
gravel in the soil (in our fields) are being made smaller each 
year by the wear and tear of the winds and rain and by the 
freezing and thawing of winter. Wherever a gravel pit or stone 
quarry is opened many boulders and pieces of rock are thrown 
aside. The next spring after these have been exposed many 
rocks will be seen to be crumbling, while others do not seem 
to be affected. Some rocks are more easily broken up than 
others, but all will yield in time. 

2. Plants. — Growing plants have had much to do in mak- 
ing soil and are still exerting an influence on the breaking 
down of rocks. We have all seen moss and lichens growing 
upon large boulders. In some cases there are two or three 
inches of material on the boulder. These plants are attacking 
the rock by means of the acids excreted from their root-like 
parts. The carbonic acid produced by the decay of the 
dead parts also tends to break up the rock. Sometimes 
the amount of material on the boulder is deep enough for 
large plants to grow in it. Then the decomposing action is 
all the greater, because of the greater activity of the real 
roots. Of course, all the action is very small for any one 
year, but when carried on for many years it amounts to a 
great deal. The material on the boulder is real soil, but 
in most instances it has been derived from the rock and the 
decayed vegetation. 

We must not forget also that if there is ever so small a crack 
in the rock the tiny roots of plants will work their way into ^*t 
and make it larger and so let in the water which we shall see 
helps to tear the rock apart. The writer has seen a large 
boulder weighing several tons split in two pieces and a tree 



THE ORIGIN OF THE SOIL 3 

growing up between them. When this tree was young the 
crack was small, but as the tree grew the roots spread the 
crack wider and wider. Most of us have seen brick and ce- 
ment sidewalks made uneven by the roots of trees growing 
under them. 

Sometimes plants grow year after year in swampy places or 
in shallow ponds. At the end of summer the plants die down 
and fall to the ground or into the water. The next year a 
new growth of plants comes up and dies down again in the 
autumn. After this process has continued for many years 
there is quite an accumulation of vegetable matter on the 
ground or in the pond. This rots more or less and comes to 
be a kind of soil. If the rotting takes place under water, in 
which case it will not be very complete, peat is formed. Peat 
is generally rather solid and shows the original shape of the 
plants. It is on the road to form coal. But if the vegetable 
matter is exposed to the air and is sometimes water-soaked, 
and sometimes dry, it decays completely and forms muck. 
Muck is generally soft and spongy and does not show any 
trace of what it was formerly. Frequently muck has a good 
deal of sand and clay mixed with it by water which washes 
sand and clay particles over the vegetable matter. 

3. Water. — Water has a great deal to do with the making 
of soil. Some rocks are porous and let a good deal of water 
soak into them. When the water freezes it bursts the rock, 
which gradually crumbles. Water will also dissolve some of 
the material of which the rock is made and in this way 
weakens its structure. 

Doubtless we have all seen the water in a shallow stream 
rolling the gravel stones along on the bottom. As these peb- 
bles roll along and strike against each other they knock off 



4 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

corners and become smaller and smaller until they are noth- 
ing but sand. The parts rubbed off are very small and are 
carried into still water where they sink to the bottom, and 
when the stream changes its course they appear as real soil. 

Perhaps the most noticeable action of water is when it 
works in the form of ice. We have seen cakes of ice all cov- 
ered with mud floating down stream in the spring. We have 
seen, too, where ice cakes have struck trees and knocked off 
the bark. We are told by geologists that centuries ago all of 
the North American continent as far south as the Ohio and 
Missouri rivers was covered by ice to a great depth. The ice 
moved slowly down from the north like a great river and 
carried everything before it. It gathered up great rocks, and 
shoved them along and rubbed them over other rocks. Of 
course, when these rocks were ground against each other 
pieces were broken off which were carried along and ground 
on other rocks, until great quantities were crushed into fine 
powder which we now call soil. All over the region covered 
by the glaciers are to be found large boulders which escaped 
crushing and were left behind when the ice melted. These 
boulders are nearly always rounded, owing to their being 
rolled over and over and coming in contact with other rocks. 

4. Animals. — While the dead bodies of animals contribute 
something toward the making of soil, the work of living ani- 
mals is more noticeable. When such animals as gophers, 
prairie-dogs, wood-chucks, rabbits, crayfish, earthworms and 
ants burrow in the earth and throw out raw subsoil and small 
pieces of rock they are helping to make soil, for this raw 
material will be acted upon by freezing and thawing, and 
the roots of plants, and very soon will become, like the 
surface soil, fit to produce crops. 



THE ORIGIN OF THE SOIL O 

5. Wind. — The wind does its greatest work in distributing 
soil, but it has a part in the making of it as well. Where 
particles of sand are blown against solid rock, the solid 
part is gradually worn away and becomes soil. The friction 
between the rock and the sand which is being blown about 
has a tendency to rub off pieces, just as is the case in the 
bottom of the stream. 

From the above we see that there are many agencies at work 
making soil. These have been working and will continue to 
work for centuries. It is likely that they are as active now 
as they ever were and soil is being made just as fast now as 
it was centuries ago. We shall see in the next chapter how 
much of the soil is wasted. 

6. Distribution. — The greater part of the soil that we see 
in the fields has not always been there. In that part of the 
country which was once covered by glaciers most of the soil 
has been brought from some other place. South of the re- 
gion covered by ice much of the soil has been formed from 
the rock underlying the region. However, little of the soil 
lies where it was formed, but has been moved by water and 
wind. Soils may be divided into two classes: sedentary and 
transported. Where the natural rock has decayed and the 
soil has gradually become deeper and deeper we have 
sedentary soils. Muck soils belong to the sedentary class 
because they are found in the place where they have been 
formed. 

Transported soils are found everywhere. Water is one of 
the greatest agencies in carrying soil from place to place. 
We see its work along every stream wherever the bank is low 
enough to allow overflow. When it rains some water gener- 
ally runs off the sloping parts of the fields and finds its way 



6 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

into the streams. As it runs down over the land it washes 
loose and carries along many particles of soil. When these 
little streams come together in a larger stream the soil which 
they have carried along makes the water muddy. The large 
stream flows along, and if the rain has been a heavy one it 
may overflow its banks in the low places and spread out over 
the ''bottom." When the water comes to a standstill the fine 
particles of soil settle out, and after the water goes down they 
remain behind as a thin layer over the land. Many creek and 
river bottoms have been built up in this way. Such soil is 
called alluvial soil. If the stream does not overflow, it may 
carry the fine particles along until it reaches the gulf, bay or 
ocean. Then, in the still water, they setde and form the deltas 
which are common at the mouths of many large rivers. The 
Mississippi and Amazon rivers deposit enormous amounts of 
soil in this way. 

When this thin layer of mud is deposited over fields along 
the streams it is generally beneficial, especially if the overflow 
comes when there is no crop on the land. Farmers say that 
an overflow is as good as a covering of manure. This is be- 
cause the particles of soil are the very richest part of the land 
from which they were washed. The Nile valley is enriched 
every year by the overflow of the Nile which brings down 
soil from its mountain sources. 

Glaciers have had much to do with transporting soil. The 
country over which the glacier has passed has spread over it 
after the ice melts a large amount of soil carried from other 
regions. Sometimes this is as much as five hundred feet 
deep, but on an average about thirty to fifty feet. Water 
again has had a good deal to do with washing these drift 
soils about and sorting them. Most of the gravel and sand 



THE ORIGIN OF THE SOIL 7 

banks are the result of the water sorting out the finer parti- 
cles, carrying them away, and depositing the coarser sand 
and gravel in depressions. 

The wind has had a good deal to do with transporting soil. 
We have seen the wind drifting snow in the winter time. 
Just so it drifts soil in many parts of the world. The ma- 
terial carried is usually sand and forms sand dunes. Along 
the southern border of Lake Michigan in Indiana are many 




I. LAND DAMAGED BY WASHING 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 



large sand dunes which have buried considerable areas of 
forest. Such land in its present condition is worthless for 
farming purposes. All wind-carried soils, however, are not 
worthless. In some parts of this country there are large areas 
composed of very fine particles, quite deep and fertile. These 
wind-formed soils are called loess soils. They are found 
mostly west of the Mississippi River. 

We should notice here that the soil is likely to be washed 
away. Some soils wash more than others. Soils composed of 
very fine particles wash most readily, because the rain water 



8 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

does not soak into them quickly but accumulates on the sur- 
face and runs off in little streams, carrying the fine top soil 
with it. This is very bad for the farmer, for it is the very 
best part of his land which is being carried away. In some 
places hundreds of acres of land have been ruined by washing. 



CHAPTER II 
THE MAKE-UP OF THE SOIL 

Kinds of Soil. — If we take a small quantity of soil in our 
hand and look at it carefully, we shall be able to see with the 
naked eye that it is made up of small particles which look like 
little stones. These particles are pieces of decayed rock and 
range in size from those easily seen down to the minute pieces 
which appear to us as dust. The bulk of the soil, unless it be 
muck, is made up of these small particles or grains. Besides 
these small grains of rock there are many particles which 
seem to be pieces of roots, stems or leaves, and such they are. 
The rock particles are called the mineral matter of the soil 
and the pieces of roots, stems and leaves the organic matter. 
In muck soils the organic matter predominates. 

When the rock particles are large enough to be seen easily 
they are called sand. The very fine dust-like particles are 
called silt and clay, the very finest being clay. It takes a mi- 
croscope to see the finest sand grains and to tell the silt from 
the clay. When the sand grains are quite prominent the soil 
is a sandy soil. If no sand particles can be seen and the soil 
is quite floury when crushed, it is clay. Now, when the sand, 
silt and clay particles are mixed and not many sand particles 
can be made out, we have a loam soil. We have various 
names for soils, such as sandy, light sandy loam, sandy loam, 
loam, clay loam, heavy clay loam, and clay, all depending 

9 



10 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

upon the proportions of sand, clay and silt in the soil. The 
sandy loam, loam, and clay loam are the best soils for gen- 
eral purposes. 

We must not forget that muck is called a soil, but it is not a 
soil like those mentioned above, for it is made principally from 
decayed* stems and leaves. The sand and clay in it have been 
carried in by the water which stood on, or ran over, the swamp 
or lake before it was drained. If you were to take some dry 
muck, weigh it and burn it and then weigh the ashes, you 
would find that from two-thirds to three-fourths of its weight 
had burned away. If you were to burn a loam soil, you 
would lose hardly one-tenth of its weight, while there would 
be still less loss from sandy and clayey soils, showing that 
these soils do not have much organic matter in them. Muck 
soils are sometimes called humus soils and the vegetable 
matter in sands, loams and clays is called the humus. Real 
humus is vegetable matter so completely decayed that one 
cannot tell what it was like at first. It is very important that 
soils have a good supply of humus, as we shall soon point out. 
Most farmers are anxious to increase the amount of humus 
in their soils, and try to do so by hauling manure on the fields 
and by plowing under green crops like rye or clover, or the 
stubble from any of the farm crops. 

Plant Food in the Soil. — Although the soil may be made 
up of what appear to be particles of rock with a few pieces of 
rotten roots and stems mixed with them, it contains the sub- 
stances necessary to make plants grow and develop. There 
are about thirteen substances which seem to be more or less 
necessary for the plant, namely: hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, 
phosphorus (phosphoric acid), potassium (potash), calcium 
(lime), magnesium, iron, sulphur, sodium, silicon, and 



THE MAKE-UP OF THE SOIL 11 

chlorine. The humus of the soil contains a great deal of 
carbon, but the plant gets its carbon from the air through the 
pores on the leaves. Besides the above, there are some other 
substances found in the plant which come from the soil. 

The substances mentioned above are called elements of 
plant food. They are dissolved in the water in the soil and 
enter the plant through the roots and are carried slowly up to 
the leaves. In the leaves they are acted upon by the sunshine 
and are united in various ways with each other and the car- 
bon of the air to make the different compounds like starch, 
sugar, fat and protein which are found in the plant. Hydro- 
gen and oxygen united form water, but hydrogen, oxygen, and 
carbon combined make starch, sugar, and cellulose, the last of 
which forms the woody part of the plant. Rankness of growth 
indicates an abundance of nitrogen; a pale color of the leaves 
shows need of iron; lime, phosphorus, and magnesium appear 
in the seeds quite largely; strong stems and a good heading 
out and earing out of grain plants show a sufficiency of pot- 
ash. When the different compounds have been formed in 
the leaves they have to be moved to other parts of the plant, 
for instance, in the potato plant starch is moved down to the 
potato. Potash, magnesia, lime, and chlorine are important 
in these movements. Nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus are 
necessary for life processes to go on in the plant. The part 
which sodium and silicon play in the plant has not, as yet, 
been fully determined. In some cases they appear to be 
necessary, while in other cases they are not. 

It has been shown by analysis that most soils contain 
enough of the different plant foods to furnish crops for hun- 
dreds of years. Professor King, of Wisconsin, has demon- 
strated that there is enough potash in the surface soil one 



12 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

foot deep to last 1,521 years, magnesia to last 3,300 years, 
phosphoric acid to last 542 years, and nitrogen to last about 
250 years, when properly farmed. This is doubtless true of 
a fairly fertile soil. Although there are such large quantities 
of these different substances in the soil naturally, the plant 
very often suffers from a lack of them. This is because they 
are bound up in the soil in such a way that the plant cannot 
make use of them. In such cases it is necessary to apply them 
to the soil in the shape of fertilizers, or steps must be taken 
to make what is in the soil available. The plant foods most 
often needed are nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, and lime. 
We shall speak of these again. 

A great many persons believe that a chemist can analyze 
a soil and tell just what that soil will grow and what kind of 
fertilizers it needs. This is a mistaken notion. There are 
two kinds of analysis. One is a chemical analysis. In such 
an analysis the different kinds of plant food are determined 
and the amount of each. There is usually found to be 
plenty for all the needs of the crop. However, such an anal- 
ysis cannot determine how much of these substances the 
plant can use when it grows in the soil, so that certain ele- 
ments must sometimes be supplied in the form of compost or 
manures, even though the analysis shows an abundant supply 
in the soil. The other kind of analysis is called mechanical. 
In this analysis the soil grains are separated into groups of 
various sizes and the amount of organic matter is deter- 
mined. Such an analysis tells something about the ability of 
the soil to hold water, and the ease with which it can be 
drained. It also gives an idea of how easy a soil will be to 
cultivate. If one knows something about the kind of land on 
which different farm crops grow well, he can tell from this 



THE MAKE-UP OF THE SOIL 13 

analysis about what crops will do well on this land. How- 
ever, neither of these analyses is a perfect guide, and the only 
way to find out which crops will do well and which kind of 
plant food is lacking is to test the soil with different crops and 
different fertilizers. 

Life in the Soil. — We are apt to think of the mineral 
and vegetable matter in the soil as being dead substances. 
However, there is a real life in the soil. There are many kinds 
of plants too small to be seen with the naked eye living in the 
dead organic matter and on the soil grains. These are called 
soil bacteria, and many kinds are known. Each kind has a 
work of its own to do. We do not know yet the real use of 
a great many of these bacteria. We know that there are some 
kinds whose business it is to make the vegetable matter decay 
and put the substances of which it was composed in shape to 
be used again for plant food. Other bacteria catch nitrogen 
as it circulates through the soil as air and hold it for the use 
of plants. Doubtless we have all seen the little knobs on the 
roots of red clover, beans, or some other plant that belongs to 
that group of plants which has blossoms like the garden bean 
or pea. Such plants are called legumes. The knobs on the 
roots are called nodules (See Fig. 20). In these nodules are 
many bacteria which take nitrogen from the air and give it 
to the plant, and also build it up into their own cells. (A 
bacterium has but one cell.) While the bacteria furnish 
nitrogen to the plant, the plant gives the bacteria such food 
as starch and sugar to live on. So it is that the plants and 
the bacteria are helpful to each other. When the clover or 
other legume dies, there is left for the next crop a great deal 
of nitrogen in the soil. As nitrogen is a costly plant food and 
very important, the farmer is always anxious to have a good 



14 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

clover crop or a good crop of some other legume. It is the 
bacteria which make the clover crop such a desirable one. 
Bacteria do not live on the roots of any plants other than 
legumes. There are other bacteria, which do not live on the 
roots of any kind of plants and which catch nitrogen and 
hold it for the use of plants. All bacteria which have any- 
thing to do with gathering nitrogen are called nitrifying bac- 
teria. They require proper conditions of temperature, moist- 
ure, air, and food to do their work well. The farmer who 
has ground well drained, manured, and cultivated helps the 
bacteria to do their work. 

There are some bacteria which work well when the soil is 
too wet to cultivate, but they are not the helpful kind. In- 
stead of gathering nitrogen they lay hold on those substances 
in the soil which contain nitrogen and let it loose so that it 
escapes from the soil as a gas. Such bacteria are called deni- 
trifying bacteria. The farmer who does not have his land 
well drained and cultivated helps this kind of bacteria to 
work, and they do him no good. 



CHAPTER III 
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILS 

By physical properties are meant weight, color, tempera- 
ture, and the way in which air and water circulate through 
the soiL 

Weight. — The weight of a soil depends upon what it is 
derived from. A cubic foot of sandy soil will weigh more 
than a cubic foot of loam, and a cubic foot of loam is heavier 
than a like amount of muck. The sandy soil is composed 
almost entirely of hard flinty or quartz rock particles, which 
have very little vegetable matter among them. The loam 
contains, besides the quartz particles, many particles of rock 
not so hard nor so heavy. The loam has also much more 
organic matter in it than there is in the sand. Muck is rather 
light, because it is made up so largely of organic matter and 
has so little of rock particles. A cubic foot of dry soil will 
weigh about as follows: sandy about 95 to 100 pounds, clay 
70 to 80 pounds, loam 65 to 75 pounds, and muck 30 to 40 
pounds. Sandy soils are the heaviest of all soils by weight, 
but farmers speak of them as being light because they are 
easily plowed and cultivated; clay soils are said to be heavy 
because they are difficult to plow and cultivate. 

Color. — The color of soils is variable and is not a very 

certain sign of their fertility. Sands are generally grayish or 

yellowish. Clays may be whitish, yellow, red or bluish. 

15 



16 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

These colors are generally caused by some chemical element 
in the soil, usually some form of iron. Loams and mucks are 
always dark colored, owing to the large amount of organic 
matter in them. We shall see that color has something to do 
with the temperature of a soil. 

Temperature. — The temperature of a soil is very im- 
portant, since it influences the sprouting of seeds and the 
growth of plants. Most farm seeds germinate best at tem- 
peratures between 70 and 80° F. Furthermore, their best 
growth takes place at temperatures equally high. Such seeds 
and plants as corn, melons and cucumbers require even higher 
temperatures. Dark colored soils are warmer than light 
colored, because the dark color absorbs more heat from the 
sun. Such a soil may be, according to Professor Brooks, of 
the Massachusetts Agricultural College, as much as eight 
degrees warmer during the hours of sunshine than a light- 
colored soil. A soil which has rather coarse grains will warm 
up more quickly than one having very small grains, because 
the coarse particles will draw the heat from the sun better 
than fine ones. This is one reason why sandy soils are 
warmer than others and are desirable for early vegetables. A 
dry soil is warmer than a wet one, hence drainage aids in 
warming a soil. A soil having a good deal of humus in it 
will tend to be cool because the organic matter holds water. 
However, the dark color of such soils by absorbing heat has 
a tendency to offset the cooling effect of the water. When 
land slopes to the east, south, or south-west, it is naturally 
warmer than land which slopes to the north or north-west, 
because the sun's rays fall more nearly straight on it. 

Aeration. — It is necessary for the good of the plant that 
air circulate through the soil. The air furnishes oxygen to 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILS 17 

the soil and this is useful in many ways. Oxygen is necessary 
for the sprouting of seeds and for the healthy growth of the 
roots, and it aids in many chemical changes in the soil whereby 
plant food is made ready. Bacteria must have it for their 
life and work. In any soil there are spaces without number 
among the soil grains. These spaces are called pores. If 
the grains are coarse, the pores are large; if fine, the pores 
are small, but more numerous. When these spaces are not 
filled with water they are occupied by air. This air is 
called soil air. If it did not move it would become foul just 
like the air in a closed room and just as injurious to the life 
of the soil as the foul air of the room is to persons in it. The 
movement of this air is brought about by the suction of the 
winds which blow over the land. This draws out some of the 
air in the soil and permits other air to enter. Where land is 
drained by tile ditches there is a movement through the lines 
of tile. When the land is soaked no air can circulate because 
the pores are filled. Soil having large pores, and soil culti- 
vated until it is loose, permit a freer circulation of air than 
compact soil with small pores. A too free circulation is not 
desirable, because it will dry the soil too much and will also 
cause the vegetable matter to be burned out too fast. 

Water in the Soil.— The water in the soil has several im- 
portant parts to play. 1. It keeps continually dissolving 
small amounts of the soil grains. This dissolved material 
furnishes the ash of plants. 2. By the constant evaporation 
of water from the leaves the temperature of the plant is kept 
from rising too high in hot weather. 3. By the movement of 
water in the soil, of which we shall soon speak, the dissolved 
material is brought in contact with the roots of the plant. 
4. All the live cells of the plant are made up largely of water. 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILS 19 

This water furnishes a means for the carrying on of the Hfe 
processes of the plant. 5. Some water is actually built into 
the tissues of the plant. Even though a piece of vegetable 
matter seems quite dry, there is still moisture in it. This 
may be easily noticed in the burning of a match. 

Kinds of Water in the Soil. — Even though the soil be as 
dry as the dust in the road, it has moisture in it. If some 
of this dry soil were heated at a boiling temperature for 
two hours it would be found that the soil had lost weight. 
The moisture contained in such dry soil is called hygroscopic 
moisture. It exists there as a very thin film around each soil 
grain. If you can think of a marble inside of a soap bubble 
and the bubble shrinking down upon the marble you will 
have a good idea of how the hygroscopic moisture exists in 
the soil. Plants growing in the soil cannot make any direct 
use of hygroscopic moisture. 

When the soil is in good condition to cultivate it contains 
considerable moisture. The films around the soil grains are 
thicker and some of the small pores between the grains are 
filled with water. Such water is called capillary water and is 
useful to plants. When all the little spaces are filled with 
water and the soil is so wet that water is almost ready to drip 
from it, the soil is said to be saturated. In this condition it is 
too wet for farm crops to grow well. It must never be stirred 
when it is so wet. Soil is in the best condition to farm when 
it contains about one-half of the amount of moisture which 
it contains when saturated. 

The water which oozes out of the soil and runs away in the 
tile drains is called free water or hydrostatic water. The water 
which runs down the slopes of the field without soaking into 
the ground is also free water and is generally called surface 



20 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

water. Free water is not only of little use to the plants, but 
instead it carries away particles of rich soil when it runs off 
the surface, or dissolved plant food when it escapes in drains. 

Capillary Movement of Water. — In most soils there is 
a point more or less distant, usually six to thirty feet, from the 
surface where the spaces between the soil grains are filled 
with water, that is, the soil is saturated. This is called the 
standing water or water table, and it extends beneath the sur- 
face at variable depths as a sheet of water. It is this water 
table that we drill or dig into when, in putting down a well, 
we say we have struck a ''vein" of water. The water table 
follows the general outline of the surface soil and has its high 
and low places just like the land. 

When the soil near the surface begins to get dry, water 
creeps up over the particles of soil in the subsoil toward the 
surface and tends to renew the water there. This is called 
capillary movement. The cause of the loss at the surface is 
the drying action of the wind and sun called evaporation, and 
the loss by evaporation from the leaves of plants called trans- 
piration. Now the water rarely moves up fast enough to keep 
up the supply at the surface, so that the ground gets quite dry 
after a time, but by cultivation we can help to keep up the 
supply. We shall explain this presently. 

Capillary movement takes place differently in different 
kinds of soil. In coarse grained soils like sandy soils it moves 
faster, but not through so great a distance. A clay or loam 
subsoil is the best to supply moisture to crops in dry seasons, 
because in such soils the capillary water will move through 
a greater distance than in any other soils. This is because the 
grains in these soils are quite small and the films on their 
surfaces are comparatively strong. These films make a strong 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILS 21 

pull on the free water below and can raise it to quite a height. 
This capillary movement does not necessarily always move 
upward. In general it moves toward the point where the soil 
is the dryest. If the ground becomes quite dry and there 
comes a heavy shower, the capillary movement may be 
downward, the tendency being always to equalize the thick- 
ness of the film around the adjoining soil grains. 

Percolation oj Water. — By percolation is meant the down- 
w^ard movement of free water through the soil. Some of the 
spaces between the soil grains are too large to hold water by 
capillarity, so that whatever water comes to them is allowed 
to pass on. In this way water which falls on the land as rain 
soaks into the soil and moves downw^ard until it comes to the 
water table. It is plain that if the soil particles are coarse 
the spaces between" them will be larger than if the particles 
are fine, so that in the coarse soil water can percolate more 
readily than in the fine-grained soil. For this reason sandy 
soils allow the rains to soak into them and drain away more 
easily than clay soils. The way in which water percolates 
through soils determines the amount of tile draining that is 
needed. Clay soils need more draining than any other, 
because water moves through them very slowly. 

Power of Soils to Retain Moisture— When soils have 
been saturated and then allowed to drain without any evap- 
oration from the surface they are still found to hold different 
amounts of water. Taking sandy, loamy, and clayey soils it 
will be found that this amount will vary in the order that the 
soils are named, the sandy holding the least and the clayey 
the most. The amount held is partly dependent upon the 
size of the soil grains and partly upon the amount of organic 
matter in the soil, so that loam often holds more than clay. 



22 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

The sands have the coarsest particles and the clays the finest, 
while the loams have fine particles and the most organic mat- 
ter. Muck soils, being so largely vegetable matter, hold more 
water than any other kind. Soils that are loose hold more 
water than compact soils. However, some of the coarser 
sands hold more water when packed than when loose. When 
a soil is packed the very finest particles are forced into the 
smaller capillary spaces and so shut up some of the space that 
might be occupied by water. This is the case in packed clays 
and loams. When a coarse soil is packed the smaller parti- 
cles are forced into those smaller spaces which are too large to 
hold capillary water, making them smaller and enabling them 
to hold more moisture than if they were left loose. As an 
illustration of how much water per cubic foot loose soils will 
hold we may take the following figures: sandy, 24 pounds; 
clay, 28 pounds; loam, 32 pounds; muck, 40 pounds. If we 
take the weight of a cubic foot of water to be 62.4 pounds, 
then an inch of rainfall will weigh one-twelfth of 62.4 pounds, 
or 5.2 pounds. Then if the figures above be divided by 5.2 
we have the following number of inches of rainfall for a cubic 
foot of each soil: sandy, 4.6, clay, 5.4, loam, 6.1, and muck, 
7.7. Since all soils vary somewhat the above figures are cor- 
rect only for the particular soils tested, but they do show how 
the kinds of soils differ. We must remember that the above 
figures show what is in the surface foot. The second and third 
and fourth foot will contain about as much, usually a little 
less, depending upon the size of the soil particles, so that the 
total amount of water held in the soil is a great deal. The 
roots of plants feed mostly in the first two feet. If we could 
save for use all the water that a soil will hold we should have 
plenty for all the needs of the crop. However, we have said 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILS 23 

that only about one-half of the total that the soil will hold is 
desirable at any one time. We shall learn something more 
in another chapter about holding the water for the use of the 
crops. 

Movements of the Plant Food. — We have said that the 
plant gets from the soil all its food except carbon. We have 
also said that the water in the soil is continually dissolving 
small amounts of the soil grains and other chemical com- 
pounds in the soil. All food for the plant must be in solu- 
tion, that is, dissolved in the soil water. The carbon, as car- 
bon dioxide, is a gas in the atmosphere and gets into the 
plant through the pores on the leaves. The dissolved ma- 
terials have a tendency to distribute themselves equally 
through the soil water. The same thing happens if we put 
a lump of salt in a vessel of water. Although we slip it down 
in one corner of the vessel and do not stir the water it will not 
be long before the water on the opposite side will taste salty. 
The dissolved salt has spread throughout all the water in the 
vessel. This is called diffusion. This diffusion and the 
capillary movement of the water in the soil bring the dis- 
solved material to the roots of the plant and the root hairs 
near the tip of each rootlet take in the plant food and pass it 
on through the roots, stem and branches of the plant to the 
leaves, where it is worked up into various products such as the 
plant uses to build up its structure and also to store away. 
The root hairs are tiny thin-walled cells. The cell wall does 
not have any openings in it that one has ever been able to 
find, but still water and the dissolved materials pass through 
it. This passage through a cell-wall, or membrane, is called 
osmosis. It is a kind of diffusion. Inside the plant the 
material has to pass from one cell to another by osmosis. 



CHAPTER IV 
DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION 

From what has already been said it is clear that the mois- 
ture in the soil is an important item. If a soil has too much 
moisture we try to get rid of the surplus by drainage; if it 
has too little, we apply water to the soil, that is, irrigate it. 

Kinds of Drains. — All drains may be grouped in two 
classes — open and closed drains. Of the open drains we have 

(1) the surface drain, made by plowing a furrow up through 
the low place in a field to allow the water to run away. 
Sometimes these surface drains are made by plowing the 
field in narrow ** lands," thus having many "dead" furrows. 

(2) The open ditch. This differs from the open drain only 
by being wider and deeper. The surface drain lasts only one 
year or until the field is plowed again. The open ditch lasts 
usually for several years. Muck beds are often drained by 
open ditches. In many parts of our country there are large 
open ditches put through by the authority of the county or 
state. These extend for miles in length and serve as an out- 
let for all other kinds of drains. They are frequently called 
county ditches. Sometimes they are called dredge ditches, 
because a dredge has been used for removing the dirt and 
making the channel. 

By closed drain or under-drain is meant that kind of 

drain in which a trench or ditch has first been dug and some- 

24 



DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION 25 

thing put into the bottom of the trench to form a passage-way 
for the water and then the trench filled up again. 1. The 
most common closed drain is the one in which tile is placed 
in the bottom of the trench to carry the water. 2. A box with 
open ends is frequently used to carry off the water. The 
box may be square or triangular. 3. Flat stones may be 
arranged so as to make a covered way for the water. 4. Two 
poles may be laid along the sides of the bottom close together 
and a third one put on the top of these to make an open pas- 
sage. The poles will soon sink into the mud and stop up the 
passage-way. 5. The bottom of the trench may be filled with 
brush and these covered with straw or pieces of sod to pre- 
vent the loose dirt from washing in. The trench is then 
filled with dirt. All forms of under-drains described, except 
tile, are likely to be temporary and poor, and hardly pay for 
the labor of making them. 

There are two great objections to open drains. 1. Open 
drains use up a good deal of land on which no crop is grown. 
If an open ditch is ten feet wide it does not need to be very 
long to use up an acre of land. Then, too, besides the open 
part there are the two banks on which we cannot raise any- 
thing. If such a ditch were tiled with large tiles it could be 
filled up and crops grown on it. 2. Open ditches are always 
getting filled up with grass, weeds, brush and mud. If hogs 
can get to an open ditch they soon work down the banks and 
fill it up. If open ditches are not kept cleaned out they are 
soon worse than useless. 

When Drainage is Necessary. — Almost all of our farm 
soils are helped by drainage. Only sandy soils and those 
which have a gravelly or sandy subsoil do not need drain- 
age. Of course the soil in the far west in what is called the 



26 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



arid region does not need drainage. On the contrary, it 
needs watering. 1. All over the United States there are little 
ponds, swamps and marshes which need drainage. It is said 
that there are six hundred million acres of such land in the 
United States. This area, however, is growing smaller every 




3. CROP FAILURE DUE TO LACK OF DRAINAGE 
By courtesy of Prof. G. I. Christie, Purdue University 

year, because great drainage operations are being carried on 
everywhere. Land values have increased so much that it 
pays to drain land now that a few years ago was thought to 
be worthless. 2. Besides this swamp land there is much farm 
land where there are low places in which the water stands 
a long time in the spring and after heavy rains, making the 
farmer late in getting out his crops, and often drowning out 
the crop after it is planted. 3. In almost any field there is 



DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION 27 

a low strip of land upon which the water from the higher 
ground runs, forming a natural drain for the surface water. 
Such ''draws," as they are called, should be drained. 4. 
Much of our clay land dries off so slowly, because the water 
cannot soak down through it quickly, that it should be 
drained. A tile ditch through a knoll is often beneficial. 
5. Along hillsides it frequently happens that the water oozes 
out very much as it does from a spring. A drain put length- 
wise along the foot of a hill will be very helpful. 6. When 
such plants as sedges, rushes, and mosses come up naturally 
on land it needs draining. 7. Land that cracks open badly 
after drying out needs draining. Such land gets too hard and 
compact, and the cracking open breaks off the roots of plants 
growing in it. 

Results of Draining. — The results obtained from drain- 
ing are many. One of the most important is the greater 
amount of soil made useful to the plants. When plants grow 
on wet soils they nearly always have their roots near the sur- 
face. The plant then draws its food from the surface soil. 
None of our farm crops will grow with their roots extending into 
water. When the subsoil is quite wet early in the season, the 
roots all form in the upper layers of the soil. Later in the 
season, when the subsoil gets drier, the roots do not follow 
down after the retreating moisture, but remain near the sur- 
face. As the plant comes to full growth it draws so heavily 
upon the soil for moisture that the capillary movement up- 
ward does not supply enough for the plant's needs, and so the 
plant suffers. Now, had the land been drained so that the 
subsoil would have lost its surplus moisture early in the sea- 
son, the plant roots would have formed lower in the soil and 
many would have reached down three or four feet or more. 



28 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

By so doing they could draw upon the moisture in the lower 
layers and would not have to depend upon capillarity bring- 
ing the water so far. When we know that a corn plant com- 
ing into tassel uses nearly three pounds of water daily we see 
the importance of having moisture convenient for the plant 
roots. Not only does drainage give the roots a larger amount 
of soil from which to get moisture, but at the same time the 
roots draw plant food from a larger amount of soil. Because 
drainage gives access to more soil, we say that it deepens the 
soil. 

Drainage has the effect of warming the soil. The evap- 
orating of water is a cooling process. When there are no 
drains much of the surface water has to evaporate. This 
takes a good deal of time and keeps the land cold and wet. 
There is usually a difference of five to ten degrees between 
the temperature of drained and undrained soil in the same 
field. This makes a decided difference in the germination 
of seeds and the growth of the plants. It may be noticed in 
fields that corn comes up quicker and grows faster in the 
drier parts of the field. This is not entirely because the soil 
is looser and richer, but because it is warmer. Then, too, 
the summer rains soak quickly into a drained soil and are 
more fully used by the growing crops. 

Several other results can be mentioned briefly. In drained 
soil bacteria are more active, making more plant food 
available. The bacteria cause the decay of the manure or 
other organic matter in soil, so that we get more good from 
the manure applied to the land. As the water finds its way 
through the soil to the tiles it leaves small passage-ways. 
This permits the air to come into the soil. We have seen in 
another chapter that this is desirable. Furthermore, when 



DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION 29 

the tiles are not draining they are filled with air so that there 
may be a circulation of air through the soil by way of the 
tiles. Another advantage in having the land drained is that 
it permits the farmer to get out crops earlier in the spring, 
and since the drained land is warmer they grow faster. So 
the farmer with drained land generally raises bigger crops 
and gets more returns from his land. Drained land is always 
easier to plow and to cultivate, so that such soil is tilled with 
less labor. 

How to Drain. — Before beginning to drain a piece of land 
the farmer should look it over carefully to determine where 
the drain is to empty and in what places lines of tile are to 
be laid. Large areas should be surveyed. Generally there is 
one main line of large sized tile put through the lowest place 
in the field where the most water naturally runs. This line 
is called the main. Into the main from the sides run branch 
lines of smaller tile. These branch lines are called laterals. 
The slope of the land toward the place where the drain is 
to empty, or the outlet, is called the fall. This should be at 
least two or three inches per one hundred feet, and five 
to eight inches is considered about the best average. Larger 
tiles are generally used near the outlet than toward the upper 
end of the drain. The tiles in the laterals are not so large as 
those in the main. The size of the tile depends upon the 
extent of the system, the amount of water to be carried, and 
the fall. Professor Elliott, in Farmer's Bulletin 187, says that 
the tiles in the laterals should be 3 or 4 inches in diameter and 
that a 5-inch main (and its laterals) having a length of 1,000 
feet and a fall of 3 inches per 100 feet will drain 25.1 acres. 
In a complete farm system of drains 2-inch laterals would be 
ample. The depth to which the tiles are put is not always the 



30 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

same, but usually it should be 3J to 4 feet. Such depth insures 
the quick drainage of the surplus water from that part of the 
soil in which the roots are mostly found. 

After the trench is dug the tiles are laid end to end in the 
level surface of the bottom. Care must be taken that the 
joints fit closely so that soil will not wash into the tiles and clog 
them up. After the tiles are laid the covering of them must 
be carefully done, so that they are not displaced. It is helpful 
if an air vent is left at the upper end of the line of tiles. This 
is made by setting a couple of tiles on end, or by filling up the 
trench at this point with small boulders. These air vents 
give a better "draw" to the system. A screen of some kind 
over the outlet will prevent the entrance of rabbits or other 
small animals which might get fast and die and clog up the 
system. Draining costs from six dollars to thirty dollars an 
acre and every care should be taken to keep the system in 
good working order. 

Irrigation. — Irrigation is artificially supplying water to 
the land. It is practised in places where there is little or 
no rainfall. It is also used to some extent in other regions 
in dry times, particularly in gardens and truck fields where 
the crop is very valuable. Irrigation is used quite extensively 
in rice growing. 

Places where the rainfall is twenty inches or less during the 
year are called arid; if the rainfall amounts to twenty to 
thirty inches, the region is said to be semi-arid; where more 
than thirty inches of rain falls in the year we have a humid 
region. Parts of the following states need irrigation: Arizona, 
California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mex- 
ico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Of these, 
Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Southern California are the dry- 



DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION 31 

est. A narrow strip lying east of these states is called the 
semi-arid region. It takes in parts of Kansas, Nebraska, 
North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas. All 
the remainder of the United States in ordinary seasons is 
humid. In wet seasons many parts of the above-named states 
do not need irrigation. Besides the states mentioned, irriga- 
tion for rice growing is practised in Georgia, Louisiana, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. 

Irrigation has been practised in the Old World for hun- 
dreds of years. It seems that the Egyptians were the first to 
make use of this method of growing their crops, but all over 
South-western Asia also are the remains of great irrigation 
systems. Even to-day millions of acres are irrigated in India, 
Egypt, and Italy, and it is extensively practised in many other 
countries of the world. 

The principal reason for irrigating is to supply the plant 
with the proper amount of moisture at the time when it 
needs it. In the arid region the plant needs moisture applied 
regularly. In the semi-arid region it is sometimes not neces- 
sary to apply any extra water. In the humid regions irriga- 
tion is needed only in periods of drouth. It must be under- 
stpod that there is no definite division between these three 
large regi®ns. They overlap each other according to the 
season. 

The amount of water necessary to produce a crop is very 
variable. It depends upon the soil and the time of year when 
the rain falls. Even in those sections where irrigation is car- 
ried on most extensively, if the rain would fall at the proper 
season it would be sufficient, but frequently it falls during 
the cold time of the year when plants cannot use it. In parts 
of California it has been found possible to produce good crops 



32 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

of wheat with a rainfall of only twelve inches per year. The 
fact that crops can be produced from a very few inches of 
rainfall when it is properly saved has led to what is called 
''dry" farming. This is carried on mostly in the semi-arid 
region. In dry farming the object is to stir the ground deeply 
so that it will take in all the rainfall and hold it for crops. 
A deep loose surface is kept over the fields to prevent any 
moisture from evaporating. By so doing good crops are pro- 
duced where the rainfall amounts to from ten to twenty inches 
annually. So in the application of water by irrigation it has 
been found best to apply about the above amount and then 
give careful cultivation to save the moisture. The cost of 
irrigating is heavy, so that farmers try not to use more water 
than necessary. 

Irrigation is used for other purposes than simply to sup- 
ply water to the plants. It is sometimes used to carry 
dissolved plant food over the land. This is especially true 
where sewage water is spread over the fields. The water in 
rivers, and that from wells, too, usually has considerable 
plant food dissolved in it and, when spread over the land, 
adds fertility to it. Commercial fertilizers that are to be 
applied to a field are sometimes dissolved in the irrigation 
waters and so distributed. 

Another use of irrigation is to rid the land of ** alkali." 
The soil on large areas in the dry region of the West is filled 
with salts which are injurious to plants. Such lands are 
called ''alkali" lands. It has been found that if enough 
water can be applied to such lands to produce percolation 
these salts will be dissolved and washed away, and the land 
made fit for crops. However, the water applied must be 
pure water free from any injurious salts. 



DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION 33 

It is impossible to give here all the details about irrigation, 
but the water is obtained either from streams, reservoirs, 
or deep wells. In our western states there are many 
streams which have their sources in the mountains and 
are fed by the snow on the peaks. As these streams flow 
out over the level country, ditches are dug leading out from 
the rivers into the fields that are to be irrigated. Smaller 
ditches run out from the larger ones to every part of the 
fields. The banks of the ditches are made higher than the 
rest of the land, so that when the water is dammed up in 
the ditch bank-full, places called "gates" can be opened in 
order to let the water flow over the field until enough is sup- 
plied. The gate can then be closed and the ditch dammed up 
further down and another gate opened and more of the field 
watered, and so on until all the land is watered. Sometimes 
the water is pumped out of the big ditches into the smaller 
ones. Where water is obtained from wells, it is raised by large 
pumps which can throw thousands of gallons in an hour. It 
is pumped into ditches and allowed to run out over the land 
as in the other cases. Irrigation from deep wells is especially 
practised in the rice fields of Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas. 
Irrigation of rice is called ''flooding." The water is turned 
on several inches deep and allowed to stand for a few days, 
then it is drained off. Rice lands are flooded two or three 
times during a season of growth. For all crops other than 
grain or grass crops it is necessary to stir the top soil as soon 
as dry enough after irrigation in order to keep the water from 
evaporating. 



CHAPTER V 
HANDLING THE SOIL 

Plowing, harrowing, rolling, disking, cultivating, and fal- 
lowing are called tillage operations and are used in the prepa- 
ration of the soil for crops. Not all of these processes are 
used for every crop. The kind of soil, the nature of the sea- 
son, and the crop to be planted — all these have something to 
do with the amount of preparation given the land. For ex- 
ample, the raising of wheat does not call for any cultivation. 
Then, too, it is not a good thing to roll land in a wet season. 
Again, oats and other spring-season grains are frequently 
sown without plowing the ground. 

Parts of the Plow. — The beam is the principal part of the 
plow. To it all the other parts are fastened and to it the 
horses are hitched by means of the clevis to pull it through 
the ground. The beam may be made of wood or iron. The 
share is the part which slips along on the bottom of the fur- 
row and cuts the soil loose. It is sometimes called the *' point." 
It is made either of cast iron or wrought iron. The cast-iron 
point is most in favor for fall plowing, because it is very hard 
and does not get dull so soon as a wrought-iron point. The 
mold-board is the curved part just above the share and over 
which the soil is pushed when the plow goes through the ground. 
It is curved so that the soil is turned over by the time it has 
slipped over the mold-board. If the mold-board has a long 

34 



HANDLING THE SOIL 35 

curve, the plow is said to be a sod-plow, because it will turn 
the sod over well. If the mold-board has a short, steep curve 
it is called a *'bold" mold-board, and the plow is a good 
stubble-plow, because it pulverizes the soil while turning it 
over. The part which slips along next to the unplowed land 
is called the land-side. The handles are the parts that the 
plowman uses to guide the plow. The colter or cutter is a 
sharp bar of metal fastened to the beam or to the plow-point, 




A WALKING BREAKING PLOW 



which pushes ahead of the mold-board to cut the soil 
from top to bottom. The colter is not absolutely necessary. 
Sometimes instead of a colter shoving through the soil there 
is a solid sharp wheel fixed to the beam which cuts the soil. 
This is called a rolling-cutter. The shank is a bar extending 
straight down from the beam and to it the share, mold-board 
and land-side are fastened. It helps to give stiffness to the 
plow. The jointer looks like a little plow fastened to the beam. 
It takes the place of the colter and turns a narrow and shal- 
low slice of soil in front of the main slice. It is particularly 
useful in the turning under of trash of all kinds and especially 



36 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

useful in plowing sod. The beam-wheel is a wheel fastened 
at the end of the beam where the team is hitched. It serves 
to steady the plow. It is not found on all plows. 

A right-hand plow turns the soil to the right, a left-hand 
plow turns it to the left. One kind is as good as the other. 
The plow is regulated usually by the clevis, which can be 
moved from side to side and up or down. In the case of a 
left-hand plow, if the clevis is moved toward the right the 
plow will not turn so much soil, but if it is moved toward the 
left the plow will turn a wider strip of land. If the clevis is 
moved down the plow will run less deep, but if it is moved 
up the plow will go deeper. The soil that is turned over is 
called the furrow-slice. Several furrow-slices together make 
the land, Where a strip of ground or a field is finished there 
is a furrow or ditch called a dead-furrow. 

Kinds of Plows. — The kind of plow described above re- 
quires the plowman to walk after it. It is called a walking- 
plow. When the plow is mounted on wheels it is called a 
sidky-plow. If two or more plows are attached together so 
that two or more furrow-slices are turned over at the same 
time we have a gang-plow. The gang-plow can be used suc- 
cessfully only in large fields. On some very large fields in 
prairie regions plowing is done with large gang-plows pulled 
by an engine. Sometimes two plows, a right and a left, are 
attached side by side to the same axle of a sulky, so that one 
plow is used to plow across the field in one direction and then, 
by turning around and going back in the furrow just made, 
the other plow is used. This is called a reversible plow. It is 
always mounted on wheels and is useful in plowing hillsides. 
Another kind of reversible plow has the share and mold- 
board so arranged that they can be turned under the shank. 



HANDLING THE SOIL 37 

and one can plov/ backward and forward along the side of 
the hill. This is called a swivel-plow. There is a kind of 
plow which has a concave disk in place of the share and 
mold-board. This is called a disk-plow. It does good worli 
in stubble ground, free from sticks and stones. It has not 
come into use very much yet. A subsoil plow is one that can 
be run in the furrow made by the ordinary plow and stir up 




A SUBSOIL PLOW 



the subsoil. It has a longer shank than other plows and 
usually does not turn a furrow-slice, but shoves through the 
ground like a ground-mole, loosening the soil. 

Plowing. — Plowing is the most important tillage operation. 
Its main purpose is to pulverize the soil. When the soil slips 
up over the mold-board the particles are made to slip over 
each other and so tear it apart, making it loose. When the 
ground is in just the right condition to plow, the furrow-slice 
will be turned over with scarcely any clods and a very small 
amount of harrowing will put the soil in good condition for seed. 



38 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

Besides pulverizing the soil, the plow is useful for turning 
under trash, weeds and manure. The jointer aids in turning 
these under completely. It is desirable to have these turned 
under so that the surface will be free in order to plant the 
seed well. Furthermore, by decaying under ground, the ma- 
terial will be more useful as plant food. 

Plowing may be done at any time of the year, except when 
the ground is frozen. In general, land is plowed in the spring 
or in the autumn. Where land is to be put in winter wheat it 
is plowed early in the autumn, say August and September. 
For corn and oats the land may be plowed in late autumn or 
in the spring. 1. By plowing in the autumn the soil is ex- 
posed to freezing and thawing weather which aids in break- 
ing up the soil particles and makes more plant food ready 
for plants. 2. It also catches the rain and snow better and 
thus holds more moisture. If the land is well drained this is 
desirable, for such land fall-plowed will have more moisture 
for the plants next year than land plowed in the spring. 3. 
Land plowed in the autumn will dry off quicker next spring 
than unplowed land and so the crop can be put out sooner. 
4. Plowing in the fall also turns up to the weather many in- 
sects that live in the ground during the winter. Many of them 
are picked up by the winter birds or are killed by the freezing 
and thawing weather. It is better to plow sandy soil in the 
autumn, if manure is to be turned under. Loam soils can be 
plowed to good advantage in the fall, but if a clay has a habit 
of running together when it thaws it would better not be 
plowed until spring. Land that has a tendency to wash should 
not be plowed in the autumn unless the furrows are thrown 
across the direction that the washing will take place. Hill- 
sides are often plowed this way in the fall. Fall-plowed land 



HANDLING THE SOIL 39 

should not be harrowed down, for the freezing and thawing 
and rains will make it flat enough. 

Spring plowing should be done as early as the land is 
dry enough. Care must be taken that the soil is not too wet 
or clods will be made, and the furrow-slice will become more 
compact than before plowing. When the soil is dry enough 
to crumble easily after being squeezed into a ball in the hand, 
it will crumble up nicely in the plowing. Early spring plow- 
ing is best because it keeps the moisture from drying out of 
the soil. We can think of the plowed ground as being a deep 
mulch, preventing the moisture in the subsoil from getting to 
the surface and evaporating. It is not a good plan in a dry 
spring to wait for rye or clover to get a good start before 
plowing under, because they will greatly reduce the soil 
moisture. Then, too, such a method may turn under so 
much material that the furrow-slice will be disconnected 
from the subsoil and the moisture from below will be hindered 
in passing upward into the furrow-slice. If there is a period 
of little rain after such plowing, the crops planted will suffer 
for moisture. 

The purpose of subsoiling is to loosen the soil to a greater 
depth than the ordinary plow does. This enables the soil to 
receive and retain more water and also to let the roots feed 
deeper. Subsoiling should be done in the autumn or sum- 
mer, because the ground is not dry enough in the spring. 
Subsoiling is hard work for the team and the plowman; it is 
seldom necessary in well drained land; and the results hardly 
ever pay for the extra labor, except with very hard subsoils. 

In plowing, one of three kinds of furrows is generally 
turned. 1. The flat furrow is one in which the furrow-slice is 
completely turned over flat. It does not pulverize the soil 



40 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



well and is hard to work up into good condition. 2. The lap 
or overlapping furrow is one in which the furrow-slice over- 
laps the previous one and covers about half of it. In this 
kind of furrow the slice seems to be standing on one corner. 
This is the kind of furrow that should be used in fall plowing, 




6. A GOOD JOB OF PLOWING 

A reversible plow is being used 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 



for it will expose considerable surface to the weather and will 
catch much rain and snow. 3. The rolling furrow is much 
like the lap furrow except that one edge seems to be rolled 
under and the whole slice does not seem to be standing so 
much on a corner. The rolling furrow is made by a plow 
having a jointer attached. This kind of furrow-shce pul- 
verizes the soil well and leaves the land in good condition to 
harrow. 



HANDLING THE SOIL 41 

Harrowing. — The purpose of harrowing is to put the 
ground in good condition to receive the seed. After the 
plowing has been done there are many small clods that can 
be easily broken if a harrow is dragged over the land. If the 
land plowed has been sod, it will be necessary to stir the 
plowed ground to break up the roots and make fine soil to 
cover the seed. Sometimes, also, after plowing there come 
heavy rains which beat down the land so hard that harrowing 
is necessary to loosen it. Besides putting the soil in shape to 
receive the seed , harrowing helps to warm the soil by loosening 
it so that the warm air can circulate through it. At the same 
time this loosening and fining the surface aids in keeping the 
moisture in the lower soil from being evaporated at the sur- 
face. Making the soil fine lets more plant food become 
available for the plants. So it can be seen that harrowing is 
also important. 

There are several kinds of harrows and each has its par- 
ticular usefulness. 1. The spike-tooth or smoothing harrow 
has a wooden or iron frame into which iron teeth are fixed. 
These teeth can be made to stand straight or to slant as de- 
sired by means of a lever. It is usually made in sections. 
This kind of harrow is most extensively used. It is good to 
break clods, loosen the soil when not too hard, and to level 
down uneven land. Its most important use is for pulverizing 
and levelling the surface soil. 2. The spring-tooth harrow 
has curved strips of steel fixed into a frame. These can be 
regulated by means of a lever also. This kind of harrow is 
useful mainly for loosening up ground that has become 
packed. It needs to be followed by a spike- tooth harrow to 
level down the little ridges left. 3. The acme or colter har- 
row is made of a number of sharp blades, like corn knives. 



42 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



which drag over the land and cut and turn it a few inches 
deep. This kind of harrow is especially useful on sod ground, 
but is not extensively used. It cannot be used successfully on 
trashy or stony ground. 4. The disk harrow is made up of 
a number of disks fastened to a shaft which turns with the 
disks. These disks are about twelve inches or more in 
diameter, and cut the ground two to three or four inches deep, 
according to the angle at which they are set by the regulator. 



mm 




A DI&K HARROW AT WORK 



The disk is useful to cut clods to pieces and to cut up ground 
that has become compact. It is also useful on sod ground to 
cut the sod to pieces and make loose soil. It is frequently 
used in the spring to cut up corn-stubble ground to prepare it 
for oats. The disk should be followed by the spike-tooth 
harrow to level down the ridges and crush the smaller clods. 
Rolling. — Sometimes the land is so full of large, hard clods 
that the harrow will not put it into shape without a great deal 
of labor. The roller is then a useful tool to use. This is 
sometimes a tree cut into sections and fastened into a frame 



HANDLING THE SOIL 43 

and sometimes is made by bolting narrow planks on iron 
wheels. Another kind of roller, called a clod-crusher, is made 
entirely of cast-iron wheels. The roller is always a heavy tool 
and crushes the clods and at the same time packs the land. 
After the land is rolled it should be harrowed with a spike- 
harrow to loosen the surface and tear the crushed clods apart. 

Frequently the land is too loose for the crop that is to be 
planted. The roller can then be used to pack the land. At 
other times the soil is quite dry when the seed is planted. 
Rolling will pack the soil about the seed so that the moisture 
will come in contact with it and help the germination. By 
packing the soil the capillary rise of moisture is increased and 
water is brought from below to the surface. Thus rolling in 
a dry time tends to make the soil wet'ter near the surface, but 
it should not be left smooth very long. It should be harrowed 
as soon as the planted seed has germinated to prevent the 
evaporation from the surface. 

Disking. — We have just said that a disk harrow is a good 
tool to cut up the clods and to loosen a packed surface. Some- 
times in the spring before the farmer can get all of his corn- 
stubble ground plowed, the surface has become quite hard 
and dry. When this is plowed with the ordinary plow the 
clods turned over will be big and it will take a good deal 
of work to make them fine. Even after a good deal of har- 
rowing and rolling there will still be clods in the under part 
of the furrow-slice. These clods will interfere with the up- 
ward movement of moisture and will also keep the roots of 
plants from getting their food. The clods being hard the 
roots will not penetrate them freely, so the food that is in 
such clods cannot be easily obtained. It is a good prac- 
tice for the farmer to disk his corn-stubble ground before he 



44 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

plows it. Disking will keep the hard crust from forming and 
will also save the moisture by keeping it from evaporating. 
Land treated in this way will plow more easily and there v/ill 
not be so many hard clods turned over. The work of prepar- 
ing the plowed ground for seed will be less, for there are fewer 
clods and the furrow-slice will pulverize better in turning over. 

If the field to be plowed was in clover last year so that 
there is a good deal of stubble left on the ground, it is a good 
plan to disk it before plowing. Besides preventing a crust, the 
disking will mix the stubble more or less with the soil. This 
is desirable because the stubble will rot more quickly, and 
because if the stubble were not mixed with the soil but simply 
turned under, it would tend to check the upward movement 
of capillary moisture and so hinder the growth of the plant's 
roots, especially if the weather is dry. For the same reason 
disking is good for land covered with manure. It is also good 
for sod land before plowing, but the cutting action of the disk 
is not so great on sod as on stubble. 

Cultivation. — By cultivation we mean the stirring of the 
soil after the crop has been planted. Usually it is not done 
until the plants have come up and can be easily seen. Corn 
and potatoes are the main farm crops cultivated. Cultivation 
has two main objects. One is to kill weeds and the other is 
to save moisture. Usually it is not the purpose of cultivation 
to loosen the soil, although this is sometimes necessary after 
a packing rain. The plowing of the ground, if it was well 
done, did that. We need to kill the weeds because they use 
water and plant food and also choke out the young plants 
that we want to grow. It takes just as much food and water 
to grow a rag-weed as it does a corn plant of the same size. 
We need to save moisture, for during the summer we have 



HANDLING THE SOIL 



45 



less rain than in the spring, and the ground soon gets too dry 
for the plants to grow well. When the plants get large they 
use a great deal of water and so draw much moisture from 
the ground. Professor King* tells us that when a corn plant 
is comino- into tassel it uses nearly three pounds of water 




8. THE ROOT SYSTEM f)F A TOliX PLANT 
One of these large roots cut off in cultivating means much loss of moisture and 
food to the plant. 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 

every day. If we think of all the stalks in the field using 
that much water daily we can see how important it is to save 
the moisture. 

Cultivation saves moisture by making a loose, dry layer of 
soil on the surface. This dry layer acts like a blanket and 
when moisture comes up from below it can go no further 
* The Soil, p. 208. 



46 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

than the dry layer and so is not evaporated. It must be 
understood, however, that not every bit of moisture can be 
saved. Some of it finds its way through the dry layer and is 
lost. A dry layer two and one-half or three inches deep is 
best for saving the mpisture. It is better not to stir the 
ground deeper than this, for by so doing the roots of the plant 
are likely to be disturbed. 

When corn plants are eighteen inches high their roots 
reach clear across the middle between the rows, and some of 
the roots are not far from the surface. If one of these roots 
is cut off the plant has to do without the food and water 
which that root would have furnished. When we stir the 
ground two or three inches deep we are giving shallow culti- 
vation. Deeper than three inches is generally called deep 
cultivation. It is better to have the surface left nearly level 
after cultivating than to have high ridges. If the cultivator 
has small teeth or shovels the ridges will not be very high. 
The high ridges give more surface for the evaporation of 
water, hence they are not desirable. It is not necessary for 
the ground between and around the plants to be ridged up 
to make the plants stand up well. 

The number of times that a crop should be cultivated can- 
not be told exactly. It should be cultivated often enough to 
keep down the weeds and to keep the surface loose. Even if 
the weeds are all killed the ground should be stirred about 
once a week until the crop is well grown, for the loose surface 
will become more or less settled and more water will be 
evaporated. In other words, the soil mulch will wear out and 
must be renewed. 

There are many kinds of cultivators, but to be effective 
they must all have two merits. They must be easily regulated 



HANDLING THE SOIL 47 

and they must stir all of the surface soil. There are harrow- 
tooth cultivators, spring-tooth cultivators, colter or shovel 
cultivators, gopher cultivators, and disk cultivators. Some 
cultivate only one side of a row at a time, most of them culti- 
vate a whole row at a time, and some of them cultivate two 
rows at a time. But any and all of these cultivators must 
fulfil the two requirements if they are to do good work. 




A TWO-ROW CORN CULTIVATOR 



The most common cultivator is the sulky cultivator. In 
this the parts that do the cultivating are attached to a frame 
which is carried on wheels. It has two parts called gangs to 
which the shovels or disks are attached. It can cultivate one 
row at a time. There is usually a seat so that the workman 
can ride and guide the gangs. There is a sulky cultivator 
which has three gangs that can cultivate two rows at a time. 
It is called a two-row cultivator. It can be used conveniently 
only in large fields. 



48 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

Fallowing. — This method of tillage is no longer used as it 
once was. In fallowing, the ground is plowed in the spring 
and kept harrowed and cultivated during the summer. No 
crop is planted. The harrowing and cultivating keep the 
weeds down and save the moisture in the soil. Sometimes 
the land is re-plowed two or three times during the summer. 
The purpose of fallowing is to rest the land and increase its 
fertility or to kill troublesome weeds. The land does not 
exactly rest, but since it does not produce any crop there is 
no draft upon its store of plant food and the plowing and 
cultivating of the land loosen it so that the air and water and 
bacteria can get at the soil particles and make more plant 
food ready for use next year. The growing of the same crop 
year after year on the same land caused it to run down and 
made the need for rest. We now know that it is better to 
change the crops on the field every year, that is, practice a 
rotation. We shall tell all about rotations in another chapter. 



CHAPTER VI 
FARM MANURES 

Farm manures are of two kinds: 1. Farmyard manure, 
obtained from stables and yards. 2. Green manure, ob- 
tained by plowing under green growth of rye, clover, cow- 
peas, or even weeds. 

The value of farmyard manure is influenced by three 
things: 1. Its source. 2. The manner of saving. 3. The 
time and way it is applied to the land. 

1. The Source of the Manure.— (a) The droppings from 
such animals as horses, sheep and chickens are rather dry, 
and when thrown in a pile soon get quite warm and ''heat," 
as we say. They are called ''hot" manures. The droppings 
from cattle and swine are quite wet and do not heat so quickly 
when thrown in a pile, and are called "cold" manures. 

(6) The manure from young and growing animals, as colts 
and calves, is not so valuable as that from older animals, and 
especially animals that are fattening. The excrement gen- 
erally contains 70 to 95 per cent, or more of the elements that 
were in the food eaten by the animals. Now, young and 
growing animals use up more of the nitrogen, phosphoric 
acid, and potash in the food for their bodies to make blood, 
bone, and flesh than do older animals. 

(c) The manure from animals that are fed on rich food, 
like clover, alfalfa, bran, cottonseed-meal, oats or other foods 
rich in nitrogen, is better than that from animals fed on tim- 

49 



50 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

othy hay, straw, corn stover or other feeds not rich in nitro- 
gen and to which Httle or no grain has been added. 

(d) Animals poor in flesh do not make valuable manure, 
because they remove much of the plant food that is in the 
food to build up their own bodies. The making of bone and 
lean meat and blood requires much nitrogen, phosphoric acid 
and potash, but the making of fat does not require very much 
of any of these elements. 

(e) The bedding used in the stable should be a kind that 
will absorb the liquid excrement readily. The liquid excre- 
ment contains a large per cent, of the nitrogen and potash 
that was in the feed. These are valuable plant foods and 
should be saved. Straw is the most common bedding used 
and absorbs liquids fairly well. Shredded corn stover that 
has been left uneaten by the animals makes an excellent bed- 
ding. It absorbs better than straw. Sawdust is a good 
absorbent, but it is injurious to the land and should not be 
used for bedding. 

2. Saving the Manure. — The manure on most farms is not 
saved carefully. Often animals are confined in yards and no 
effort at all is made to save the droppings, and the rains wash 
them away, or they are tramped into the mud. Very often 
when stables are cleaned out the manure is thrown under 
the eaves of the barn or shed and the rain from the 
roof soon saturates the pile and a dark liquid soon be- 
gins to run away from it. This contains much plant food in 
the form of nitrogen and potash and is usually lost by draining 
into a stream or soaking into the ground where no crop is 
raised. Then again, it often happens that manure is thrown 
into large piles or boxes where it lies exposed to rain and 
weather for several months. Under such conditions it gets 



FARM MANURES 51 

warm, ** heats," and ferments. This fermenting causes the 
production of ammonia which contains nitrogen. This 
escapes into the air and is lost. All of these ways are more or 
less careless, and on nearly every farm better methods could 
be used. It is better to allow the manure to accumulate in 
the stable and be trampled under foot by the animals, pro- 
viding plenty of bedding is given, than to throw it out in a 
pile to ferment and burn. The tramping in the stable keeps 
the manure solid and thus keeps it moist and from heating. 
In some cases, for instance, where calves, colts, sheep, or 
steers are fed loose in a stable or shed the manure might be 
allowed to collect during the entire winter. As soon as the 
animals are taken out of the stable or shed the manure 
should be hauled to the field and scattered at once. Or, if 
the stable is cleaned out during the winter, the manure should 
be taken to the field at once. Where animals are kept in open 
yards the droppings should be gathered every day and thrown 
into a pile which should be hauled out every few days. Some- 
times the ground is too wet to drive over, or the field on which 
the manure is to be spread is in a crop. In such cases it may 
be desirable to keep the manure for several weeks. It should 
then be stored in a heap where it will not get wet enough 
to produce drainage, but where, if necessary, water can be 
applied to keep it from getting hot. The pile should be made 
solid and as deep as possible. A basin-like place with the 
bottom and sides cemented is a good place to store manure, 
and if it has a roof over it all the better. 

It should be remembered that if manure must be kept in 
a heap for a time, the pile should be deep, solid, and wet, but 
not wet enough for drainage. It has been found by experi- 
ment that where manure was exposed in loose, shallow piles 



52 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

it lost in less than four months more than half of its nitrogen, 
phosphoric acid, and potash. The potash and phosphoric 
acid got away by drainage and the nitrogen largely by fer- 
mentation. 

3. How to Apply Manure. — We have said that manure 
should be hauled to the field as soon as possible. It should 
also be spread at once. It is very wasteful to dump the 




lo. usixii A AiAMui': si'i;i:ai)Kk 
Spread in this way manure gives best results 

manure off in piles and let it lie there for weeks before spread- 
ing. Every rain that comes will wash out some soluble ma- 
terial into the soil just around and under the pile. Thus it is 
that the plant food is not equally distributed over the field. 
Spreading the manure with a manure spreader is the very 
best way to get it distributed equally over the field. The 
manure spreader is a wagon whose floor is loose and is 
moved toward the rear end of the wagon by means of cogs. 
At the back end of the box is a spiked reel which also turns 



FARM MANURES 53 

by cogs. As the team moves forward the floor moves back- 
ward and the reel whirls around rapidly, catching the ma- 
nure, tearing it apart and spreading it over the land much 
more completely, much quicker and easier than a man can 
do it with a fork. 

It does not matter about plowing the manure under right 
away. What is washed out by rains will go into the soil and 
be soon used by plants. The only danger is when the land 
is sloping, causing the water to run away instead of soaking 
into the ground. However, when the manure is plowed under 
it will begin to decay and thus add humus to the soil and also 
give more plant food to the plants. It will also aid in holding 
water and in making the ground looser by keeping it from 
packing down so completely. When manure is spread, dur- 
ing the winter, on land that is to be plowed in the spring, it 
keeps the land from thawing and drying quickly in the spring. 
Especially is this true if it has been spread on top of snow. 
This, however, is not likely to result in any inconvenience 
except on undrained land. 

It is better to apply small quantities of manure to the land 
often rather than large quantities not so often. For example, 
it is better to apply five tons per acre every three or four years 
than to apply ten tons every eight or ten years. With a manure 
spreader a small quantity of manure can be made to cover a 
larger area of ground and thus the fields can be treated 
oftener. The amount of manure applied per acre varies a 
great deal. Five tons is considered a light dressing, while 
twenty and thirty tons per acre are often applied, especially 
in gardening. Ten tons per acre is a very good amount for 
ordinary farm practice. 

One good thing about farmyard manure is the way it lasts 



54 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

in the ground. The effect of manuring can be seen on the 
yields of crops for many years after the manure has been 
appHed. At the Indiana Experiment Station it has been 
shown that the manure was making an increased yield twenty 
years after it was applied. 

Green Manuring. — By green manuring is meant the plow- 
ing under of green plants so that in their decay under ground 
they will add humus to the soil. Furthermore, the acids pro- 
duced by their decay attack the rock particles and make new 
compounds, some of which are useful as food for plants. The 
addition of humus, as we have learned, aids the soil in re- 
taining moisture in a better way and at the same time puts the 
soil into better condition for cultivation. Sandy soils are 
made cooler and clay soils warmer by the addition of humus. 

Any kind of plant can be used for a green manuring crop. 
It is better to plow under weeds while they are green than to 
let them go to seed. Rye is a common green manuring crop. 
It is sown in the autumn and plowed under in the spring. 
The best green manuring plants are the legumes, because they 
add nitrogen, and nitrogen is the thing that most soils need. 
Clovers, cow-peas, soy beans and vetches are all good. Clov- 
ers do the soil most good if turned under in full blossom, the 
others when the pods are about one-half grown. Legumes 
are called nitrogen-gatherers, because they increase the total 
amount of nitrogen in the soil. All other plants used as green 
manures can give the soil only the nitrogen which they have 
obtained from the soil in the first place. 

Usually it is better to cut the clover or cow-peas for hay and 
feed them and return the manure to the land. By so doing 
the farmer gets the benefit of the feed for his animals and 
nearly all the plant food goes back to the land to make it richer. 



CHAPTER VII 
COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 

A commercial jertilizer is a manufactured plant food. It is 
usually kept for sale at the warehouses and seed stores. 
Commercial fertilizers are used when the soil is lacking in 
some of the important plant food elements, or when the 
farmer wishes to give his plants an extra good start in order 
to produce larger crops. Gardeners frequendy use commer- 
cial fertilizers in place of stable manure, because the stable 
manure contains so many weed seeds that it makes land 
weedy. Fertilizers do not contain any weed seeds. 

There are many kinds of fertilizers, but they nearly all 
belong to one of three classes, namely, those which furnish 
nitrogen, phosphoric acid, or potash. Some fertilizers sup- 
ply more or less of all three of these elements, but usually 
some one element is largest in amount. When a substance 
or mixture supplies all three plant food elements it is said to 
be a complete fertilizer. We can speak of only a few of the 
more common fertilizing materials. 

The nitrogen fertilizers come from two sources, namely, 
from plant or animal sources, that is, organic materials, and 
from chemical sources. L Dried blood comes from the large 
slaughtering houses. The fresh blood from the animals killed 
is collected and dried. The best grades of dried blood con- 
tain 12 to 14 per cent, of nitrogen. Dried blood decays rather 

55 



56 AGRICULTURE FOR CQMMON SCHOOLS 

quickly in the soil, and yields its nitrogen for the use of 
plants. 2. Tankage also comes from the slaughtering houses 
in large cities. It is made from the intestines and their con- 
tents, small bones, waste flesh, and other parts of the slaugh- 




II. RESULT OF USING FERTILIZERS ON WHEAT 

KPN stands for potash, phosphorus, and nitrogen. O stands for no fertilizer. 
KN stands for potash and nitrogen. Notice which element was most helpful in 
these cases. j^y courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 

tered animal that cannot be used otherwise. This material 
is heated by steam and, when dry, ground into meal. Tankage 
usually contains some phosphoric acid as well as nitrogen. 
There are two principal kinds of tankage: (1) Concentrated 
tankage, containing 10 to 12 per cent, of nitrogen and very 



COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 57 

little phosphoric acid. (2) Crushed tankage, containing 4 to 
9 per cent, of nitrogen and 3 to 12 per cent, of phosphoric 
acid. There is a kind of tankage called digester tankage which 
can be used for feeding animals as well as for fertilizer. 
When buying it one should state for which purpose it is to 
be used, because that for fertilizer purposes only may contain 
chemicals that would be injurious to animals. Tankage also 
decays rather quickly. 3. Dried ground fish or fish guano, is 
made from a kind of fish called menhaden, caught along the 
Atlantic coast. The fish are steamed and pressed to get out 
the oil. The pomace is then ground and made into fertilizer 
which contains about 6 to 8 per cent, each of nitrogen and 
phosphoric acid. Some of the fish fertilizer comes from the 
wastes of fish markets and fish canneries. The nitrogen and 
phosphoric acid in these is quite variable. Fish fertilizers 
give up their plant food about as easily as tankage and dried 
blood. 4. Cottonseed -meal is usually used as a cattle food, 
but it can be used as a fertilizer as well. It is made from 
cotton seeds. The covering of the kernel is first taken off, 
then the kernel is ground and pressed to get out the oil. The 
pomace is called cottonseed-meal. It contains 6 to 7 per cent, 
of nitrogen and 1 to 2 per cent, of phosphoric acid. It makes a 
good fertilizer and is quickly available. When we say that 
a fertilizer is quickly available, we mean that it soon decays 
in the ground and gives up its plant food to the roots of 
plants. 5. Guanos are composed mainly of the excrements 
of fish-eating birds. Where large numbers of sea birds roost 
on the islands in rainless regions their droppings soon accu- 
mulate in large quantities. These are collected and shipped 
to farming regions. Most of the guano comes from islands 
lying off the coast of Peru, and is called Peruvian guano. 



58 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

The supply from this source is now about exhausted. 6. Raw 
and steamed bone, meat meal, hoof meal, horn meal, wool 
and hair waste, leather waste, castor pomace, linseed meal, 
garbage tankage, and many other materials furnish nitrogen 
from organic sources. 

The chemical nitrogen fertilizers are largely used. 1. Sul- 
phate of ammonia is a by-product in the manufacture of coke, 
illuminating gas and bone-black. It contains about 20 per 
cent, of nitrogen and is quickly available. It should not be 
used on "sour" land, because it requires the bacteria of the 
soil to make it available. 2. Nitrate of soda is obtained in 
Chili, South America. There is a large rainless region there 
where this mineral is mined by the thousands of tons and 
shipped to all parts of the world. It is called "Chili salt- 
petre," and contains about 16 per cent, of nitrogen. The 
nitrogen in nitrate of soda is quickly available and is easily 
lost on sandy land by drainage. 3. Nitrate of potash, or 
common saltpetre, is too costly to be used by farmers for a 
fertilizer. It contains both nitrogen and potash. 

The phosphoric acid fertilizers are also obtained from two 
sources, namely, from organic materials and from chemical 
materials. 1. Ground bone, or raw bone meal, is made from 
raw bones ground into meal, the finer the better. This con- 
tains about 4 per cent, of nitrogen and 22 per cent, of phos- 
phoric acid. They are slowly available and their effect in 
the ground lasts for several years. Steamed bone differs from 
ground bone in that it has been thoroughly steamed before it 
was ground. The steaming takes out the fat and almost all 
the nitrogen. The per cent, of phosphoric acid is about 28 to 
30, and the nitrogen about IJ. Steamed bone also becomes 
useful slowly. 3. There are other forms of bones called^ ex- 



COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 59 

tracted bone, bone ashes, and bone-black, which are used to 
a small extent as fertilizers. 

The phosphoric acid obtained from chemical sources is 
generally in the form called phosphate. There are two kinds 
of phosphates, the natural mineral phosphates and the 
manufactured phosphates. 1. Rock phosphate is a natural 
form. It is thought to be the fossilized excrement and re- 
mains of fish-eating animals which lived ages ago. These 
fossil deposits are found in South Carolina, Florida, and 
Tennessee. The rock is dug out and ground very fine and 
then it is ready to apply to the land. Rock phosphate is quite 
variable in its content. The South Carolina rock contains 
about 26 per cent., the best grades of Florida rock about 40 
per cent., and the Tennessee rock from 30 to 32 per cent, of 
phosphoric acid. The rock phosphate is very slowly avail- 
able. 2. Basic or phosphoric slag, also called Thomas slag, 
is a by-product in the making of certain kinds of steel. It 
comes in the form of a fine powder and contains 15 to 20 per 
cent, of phosphoric acid. There is also a good deal of lime and 
oxide of iron mixed with it. 3. The manufactured phosphate 
is frequently called a super-phosphate. A super-phosphate is 
a phosphoric acid fertilizer in which the phosphoric acid is 
quickly available. Super-phosphates are made by treating 
ground bone or ground rock phosphate with sulphuric acid. 
Such treatment dissolves the original material and makes 
new combinations which are more easily dissolved in the soil. 
(1) Dissolved bone is ground bone treated with sulphuric 
acid and contains about 2 per cent, nitrogen and 13 per cent, 
of phosphoric acid. (2) Acid phosphate, or dissolved rock, 
is made by treating ground rock phosphate with sulphuric 
acid. The amount of phosphoric acid in the acid phosphate 



60 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

will depend upon the amount in the rock used. Acid phos- 
phate is very extensively used. 

The potash fertilizers are also from organic and chemical 
sources. 1. The chief organic source is ashes, wood ashes 
being the common source. The amount of potash in wood 
ashes differs with the kind of wood from which the ashes are 
obtained, as, for example, the unleached ashes from oak 
contain about 10 per cent, of potash, from beech 16 per cent., 
from elm 24 per cent. Hard wood contains more potash than 
soft wood. Ashes also contain large quantities of lime and 
small quantities of phosphoric acid, magnesia, and soda. 
Unleached ashes are the only kind that should be used as a 
fertilizer. By leached ashes we mean ashes that have been so 
soaked by water that the potash has dissolved and run away. 
2. Tobacco stems contain from 6 to 10 per cent, potash, and 
are much used for mixed fertilizers. 

The chief chemical source of potash is the German pot- 
ash mines in Germany. At Stassfurt in Germany there 
•are large deposits of salts which are rich in potash. 1. Kainit 
is the name of one of these salts which is sold on the market 
without having been treated in any way except grinding. It 
contains about 12 to 13 per cent, of potash. It has consid- 
erable magnesia and common salt mixed with it. Kainit is 
rather quickly available when applied to the land. 2. Muri- 
ate of potash is the name given to a potash fertilizer made 
from certain kinds of the German salts by a process called 
recrystallization. It contains about 50 per cent, of actual 
potash and is considered the cheapest source of potash for 
fertilizing. It is very extensively used. 3. Sulphate of pot- 
ash is another potash fertilizer made from the German salts, 
by the process of recrystallization in which those crystals con- 



COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 61 

taining mostly sulphate of potash are separated out. There 
are two grades: the high grade sulphate of potash contains 
51 to 53 per cent, of potash, and the low grade about 26 
per cent. 

Besides the nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash fertilizers, 
there are other materials which are frequently applied to the 
land, sometimes to add an element of plant food to the soil, 
but more often for the effect which they will have upon the 
soil in improving its texture. Such fertilizers are called indi- 
rect fertilizers. Lime is often put on land because the soil is 
lacking in lime, but more often because the land is "sour," 
and the lime will sweeten it. Lime also makes compact soils 
more crumbly, hence more easily worked. Leached ashes 
and coal ashes add nothing in the way of plant food, but the 
leached ashes will furnish a good deal of lime. Common salt 
is sometimes applied to land, especially sandy soil. It helps 
the soil to hold moisture and also aids somewhat in makino- 
lime and potash available. Large quantities will injure the 
plants. Land plaster or gypsum is also often applied for the 
lime which it contains. Where it can easily be obtained marl 
is used for supplying lime. It is especially good for sandy 
lands, because there is often a good deal of clay mixed with 
the marl which tends to make the sand more compact. Fine 
ground limestone is one of the best indirect fertilizers. It will 
sweeten sour land as quickly as lime and will not burn out the 
organic matter as lime does. Ground limestone should be 
applied at the rate of two tons or more per acre. Usually 
autumn is the best time to apply it. 

The best way to find out what elements of plant food are 
needed in the soil is by actual experiment on land. A small 
area which represents the whole field fairly well is laid out 



62 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



in plots and each fertilized differently. When the crop is 
harvested and weighed and the results compared, one can tell 
which fertilizer did the most good. 

Ordinarily fertilizers are applied from a box fitted to the 
machine which plants or sows the seed. In the case of wheat 
and oats the drill usually has a box into which fertilizer can 







/ 


flHHHIil 






In 


mdt m 




^mmmm 



12. APPLYING LIME TO LAND WITH A SPECIAL MACHINE 
By courtesy of the Ohio Experiment Station 

be put and sown at the same time as the grain. Many corn 
planters have fertilizer attachments which scatter the fertilizer 
in the row. For some garden and truck crops it is desirable 
to put the fertilizer in the hill or the row where the roots can 
easily get the plant food. Care must be used in such cases, 
for the dissolved fertilizer may be so strong as to kill the roots 
of the plants. 

Stable manures, clover, and a good rotation of crops should 



COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 63 

always be used in connection with commercial fertilizers. 
By so doing the humus in the soil will be maintained and the 
fertilizers will be more effective. If fertilizers are used alone, 
the humus becomes exhausted, the soil becomes hard and 
compact, and the fertilizers fail to give the desired results. 



SECTION II— FARM CROPS 

CHAPTER VIII 

CLASSIFICATION OF FARM CROPS 

Before we begin to study about the different crops that 
farmers raise, it will be well for us to classify them into a few 
groups by which they are commonly mentioned. 

1. Cereals. — By cereals is meant those crops which belong 
to the grass family and whose seeds are made into flour which 
is used for bread. The principal cereal crops are corn, wheat, 
oats, rye, barley, rice, and millet. Rice and millet are scarcely 
ever used for bread in this country, but in India and China 
they are used extensively. 

2. Legumes. — We are all familiar with the appearance of 
the blossoms of the garden pea and of sweet peas. There are 
many plants which have similar blossoms. All such plants 
are called legumes. Some of the common legumes are alfalfa, 
all of the clovers, cow-peas, soy beans, peas, beans, and 
vetches. Legumes are desirable plants for the farmer to 
raise because they have nodules on the roots in which live 
bacteria that collect nitrogen from the air. Some of this nitro- 
gen is stored in the leaves and stems of the plants and some 
remains in the nodules on the roots. When the plant is used 
for feed it makes a richer food than such plants as timothy or 
blue grass. Also, when the plant dies the roots remaining in 
the ground contain more nitrogen than the roots of other 

64 



CLASSIFICATION OF FAFaM CROPS 65 

plants. This makes the soil richer in nitrogen and so better 
for the crop that follows. Nearly all legumes have a strong 
main root, called a tap root, which grows deep into the ground. 
When they die the tap roots have a tendency to leave the 
soil looser than do the roots of plants which are smaller. 

3. Roots. — Certain crops like beets, turnips, carrots, 
parsnips, and radishes are called root crops. When quite 
young these plants have a long, slender tap root which gets 
larger as the plant gets older. It is the enlarged tap roots 
then which form the root crop. These tap roots, however, 
do not have nodules on them like the legumes and so do not 
gather nitrogen. Root crops are used for feed for live stock, 
and nearly all kinds may also be used for human food. 

4. Tubers. — A tuber is an enlarged underground stem. 
If we examine a potato plant carefully we shall find that the 
stem above the ground continues underground as a somewhat 
smaller white root-like stem. At the end of this root-like stem 
will be found an enlargement, the potato or tuber. The same 
examination will show that the real roots start from the base 
of the above-ground stem and are quite different from the 
underground stem. Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes and arti- 
chokes are examples of tubers. 

5. Bulbs. — Doubtless we all know enough about botany 
to know that a leaf is made up of two parts: the expanded 
part, or blade, and the stem, or petiole, which connects the 
blade to the stem of the plant. This petiole is quite easily 
made out in the leaves of trees, but in such plants as onions 
and tulips it is not so easily seen. That which we call the 
onion is nothing but the enlarged ancl thickened petioles of 
the onion leaves. The blades of the leaves in the case of the 
onion are curiously changed. So we say that a bulb is the en- 



66 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

larged and thickened petioles of the leaves. The onion is our 
only bulb farm crop, but tulips and hyacinths are other 
examples of bulbs. 

6. Fibre Crops. — Any plant that furnishes material out of 
which cloth or rope is made is called a fibre plant. Cotton, 
flax, and hemp are common crops in the United States from 
which fibres are obtained to make cloth, twine, and ropes. 
Jute, sisal, and manila hemp are obtained from plants grown 
mostly in other countries. 

7. Forage Crops. — The term forage crop is used for a good 
many crops. It means one that is used for coarse feed like 
hay, fodder, stover, straw, silage, or pasture. Crops that are 
employed for other purposes may also be used as forage crops. 
For example, wheat is raised principally for its grain, but it 
may be cut green and made into hay and thus become a 
forage crop. Forage crops will be more fully explained in 
another chapter. 

8. Miscellaneous Crops. — There are many other crops 
that are raised on the farm that we cannot so easily classify. 
Some of them are : tobacco, broom corn, hops, mint, tomatoes, 
etc. These have to be considered separately. 



CHAPTER IX 
CORN 

In the next few chapters we shall study about some of the 
principal crops grown for their seeds. Some of them are used 
for other purposes besides seed production, but these will be 
spoken of later. We shall speak briefly of the history, 
culture, and uses of the various crops. Before beginning we 
need to explain that by culture we mean the soil to which a 
crop is adapted, and the way of planting, cultivating and 
caring for the crop. 

Maize or Indian Corn. — The plant that we call corn is 
strictly an American plant. It is the only cereal that the New 
World has given to civilization. Corn has not been found 
growing wild, but a great deal of evidence goes to show that 
its native home was in Mexico and Central America. When 
the early settlers came to America they found the Indians rais- 
ing corn. The settlers soon learned its usefulness, and find- 
ing how easy it was to raise, they soon grew it wherever they 
went. To-day it is grown in every state of the Union. The 
corn crop is four times as large in number of bushels as that 
of any other grain crop in the United States. Iowa, Illinois, 
Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Indiana and Ohio produce 
more than half of the corn raised in the United States. These 
states form the so-called ''corn belt." 

Kinds of Corn. — There are six kinds of corn, namely: dent, 
flint, sweet, pop, pod, and soft corn. More care has been 

67 



68 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

given to the cultivation of the first four than to the last two. 
The number of varieties of each is very great. 

Dent corn is the kind raised in all the principal corn- 
growing states. It has a rather long kernel which has a dent 
in the top. This dent is caused by the shrinking of the kernel 
at the centre more than elsewhere when it begins to get ripe. 
Dent corn produces the largest ears of any kind of corn. The 




13. rUTTIiNG IN teHOCK IS A GOOD WAY TO SAVE THE CORN FODDER 
UNTIL IT IS READY TO BE SHREDDED 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 

varieties have variously colored kernels. Three hundred and 
twenty-three varieties have been described. 

Flint corn has a short and rounded kernel which is quite 
hard. It has no dent in the top. An ear of flint corn is quite 
smooth and does not have so many rows of kernels as an ear 
of dent corn. Flint corn does not take so long to mature and 
so is raised in our most northern states and in Canada. The 
stalks and ears do not get so large as those of dent corn. 

Siveet corn usually has a shrivelled kernel which is sweet to 
the taste. Sweet corn is raised by farmers and truck garden- 
ers largely for table use and for canning purposes. Farmers 



CORN 69 

rarely raise it for the purpose of feeding the grain to cattle 
and hogs. Sweet corn has a larger per cent, of protein and 
fat than other kinds of corn. There are sixty-three or more 
varieties. 

Pop-corn is raised almost entirely for selling to persons who 
make cracker-jack and pop-corn. Neither the ears nor the 
stalks grow very large. The kernels are always quite hard 
and flinty. The bursting open when popped is said to be due 
to the explosion of the moisture in the seed when heated. 
Some varieties of pop-corn have quite sharp-pointed kernels; 
these are called the rice varieties. Others have quite smooth 
and blunt-pointed kernels; these are called flint or pearl 
varieties. There are twenty-five or more varieties. 

Pod corn has each kernel enclosed in a chaff somewhat like 
a kernel of wheat, so that when the husk is removed from the 
ear the kernels are still covered. Pod corn is raised only as a 
curiosity. 

Soft corn has kernels resembling the flint kernels, but they 
are not nearly so hard. The kernels are soft and floury inside. 
Soft corn is raised somewhat in the south-western states and 
in Mexico. Brazilian flour-corn is a soft corn. 

The size of the ear and stalk of corn is quite variable, de- 
pending upon variety and climate. Dr. Sturtevant * speaks 
of a variety in which the stalks grow only about 18 inches tall, 
while in the West Indies stalks sometimes grow as high as 
30 feet. He also speaks of having seen ears of pop-corn only 
an inch long and ears of dent corn sixteen inches long. The 
flint varieties usually have eight or twelve rows of kernels to 
an ear; the dent varieties usually have from sixteen to twenty- 

* See 15th Biennial Report of Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 
p. 14. 



70 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

four rows. Dr. Sturtevant also speaks of a variety which ma- 
tures in one month in Paraguay, while seven months are re- 
quired in some southern countries. The stalks and ears of 
varieties raised in North Dakota and other northern states are 
much smaller than those of varieties raised in the corn belt states. 

Soil for Corn. — Corn will grow in almost any soil that is 
not too wet or too dry. It grows best, however, in a well- 
drained loam soil rich in organic matter. Muck soils are apt 
to be lacking in potash and have too much nitrogen to pro- 
duce good solid corn. Sandy soils are likely to get too dry in 
July and August for corn to grow well. Heavy clay soils are 
too compact unless they are well drained and plenty of coarse 
manure is used. 

Plowing and Preparing. — Land for corn may be plowed 
in autumn or spring. If autumn plowed the supply of moist- 
ure is apt to be better the following season. Spring plowing 
should be done as early as possible in order to save moisture 
and prevent the formation of a crust which will turn under 
cloddy. The plowing should be well done so that the furrow- 
slice is well pulverized. The land should then be thoroughly 
harrowed with a spike-tooth harrow to level it and pulverize 
the clods. If autumn plowed, the land will usually need to 
be disked before harrowing. It can sometimes be worked up 
by using a spring-tooth harrow. If land is too cloddy it 
should be rolled or dragged. Dragging is better, if it will 
crush the clods, because the drag does not pack the ground so 
much as a roller. In either case the land should be harrowed 
again soon to loosen the surface and prevent evaporation. 
It is desirable to have the field dragged just before planting, 
for then the planter can be driven straighter with more ease. 
It will also do no harm to harrow just after planting. 



CORN 71 

Planting. — When the seed bed is in good condition and the 
soil is warm enough the corn should be planted. Corn is a 
warm weather crop, so that generally it pays to wait until the 
top soil has warmed up. It is usually planted in May in the 
corn belt states. The two-horse check-row planter is now 
used almost entirely by farmers. Only very small fields are 
planted by hand. Corn is planted either in hills or in drills. 
There is really no difference as to the amount of corn that 
can be raised by the two methods. The corn in drills is not 
so easy to keep free from weeds, for such corn has to be culti- 
vated in one direction all the time and the weeds get a start in 
the row unless the early cultivation has been carefully done. 
It is desirable to have two to three kernels of corn dropped in 
each hill when hilling it, or a kernel about every sixteen inches 
when drilling it. The seed should usually be covered about 
one-and-a-half to two inches deep. In the drier regions of the 
west and somietimes on sandy ground corn is listed, that is, it 
is planted in a furrow, four or five inches below the level of the 
ground. A machine called a lister, throws open a furrow, and 
drops and covers the corn in the bottom of it. Listing is not 
desirable where there is a heavy rainfall. 

Cultivation. — If necessary, the cultivation of corn can 
begin before it is very large, even before the young plants are 
out of the ground. If, by reason of wet weather, the weeds 
get a start, the field may be harrowed with a spike-tooth har- 
row, or by following the rows made by the planter wheels, 
a sulky corn cultivator may be used. Usually, however, cul- 
tivation does not begin until the young corn plants are three 
or four inches high, and, if the seed bed has been well pre- 
pared, it will usually not be necessary to commence sooner. 

Corn should be cultivated often enough to keep down weeds 



72 AGRICULTURE FOR COMxMON SCHOOLS 

and to save the moisture. The soil should be stirred after 
every rain as soon as it is dry enough to work, for only by 
keeping the top two or three inches loosened from the under 
soil can the loss of moisture be prevented. Even if no rain 
falls and the weeds are all killed, the soil needs to be stirred 
about every week or ten days, for the soil mulch will lose its 
effectiveness. Cultivation should be kept up until the plants 
begin to tassel out. By this time the plants will be too large 




14. A HARROW TOOTH CULTIVATOR 

A good tool for preserving a soil mulch in tall corn 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 

to pass under the arch of the cultivator without breaking off. 
Further cultivation can be given with a single horse and culti- 
vator. However, this is scarcely ever done. 

The cultivation should be about two to three inches deep. 
This depth has been found better for saving moisture than a 
lesser depth. If the ground is stirred deeper than three inches 
there is danger of disturbing the roots. When corn is about 
a foot and a half high the roots extend entirely across the 
middle from one row to the other, and deep cultivation will 
break these off and thus check the growth of the plants. In 



CORN 73 

cultivating, the surface should be left as level as possible so 
that there is no increased opportunity for evaporation. 

Harvesting. — The feeding value of the stalk and the grain 
is greatest when the lower leaves of the stalk have begun to 
ripen and when the kernels of the ears are glazed over and 
have begun to dent and the husks are drying up. If corn is 
either to be shocked or put into the silo, the cutting should be 
done at this time. By far the largest part of the corn crop is 
allowed to ripen on the stalk, but by so doing about half of 
the feeding value of the stalks is lost. Cutting the corn in- 
sures a more profitable use of the entire plant. Formerly corn 
was cut entirely by hand and put into shocks, but now many 
farmers have corn binders, some of which both cut and shock 
the corn. Shocks should be made large, so that there will be 
as little fodder exposed to the weather as possible. However, 
they must not be so large that they will not dry out well. 
Shocks containing one hundred to one hundred and twenty 
hills are about the right size to dry out properly. 

Before going further we must explain two words. The 
word ''fodder" means the entire plant before the ears are 
husked. The word "stover" is applied to the stalk after the 
corn is husked. Formerly the husking was all done by hand, 
but now much of it is done by machinery. When the corn 
is dry enough to husk, and this is when the grains will shell 
off the cob, the fodder is run through a machine which 
snaps off the ears, pulls off the husks, and at the same 
time, tears up the stover into shreds. The ears run out of a 
chute into a wagon-box. This is called husking and shred- 
ding. The shredded stover is blown into a mow where it is 
convenient for feeding. The ears are usually put into a crib 
or hauled to market, or they may be used for feeding at once. 



74 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS ' 

When the fodder is left standing in ^the field the ears are 
husked by hand as soon as dry enough, and then the stover is 
pastured off by live stock. A machine is being perfected now 
which husks the corn from the standing stalks and elevates 
the ears into the wagon box. It works very much like the 
corn binder. 

Saving Seed. — About the time the husks are beginning 
to dry the farmer should gather ears for seed for next year. 
He should take a sack or basket and go through the field, 
picking such ears as look to be good seed ears. Ears should 
be chosen from stalks of medium height which are strong at 
the base and taper toward the top and which stand up well. 
The ear should be growing about midway on the stalk, high 
enough to be easily husked. Ears whose tips are pointing 
down should be chosen rather than those whose tips point 
upward. 

After being gathered the ears should be hung up in a shaded 
place where the air has free movement. Many farmers col- 
lect the ears with some of the husks on and then tie two ears 
together by the husks and hang them over a pole, or on a 
nail driven in a rafter in the wood shed or tool house or corn 
crib. (See Fig. 15.) The ears are allowed to dry here until 
cold weather, then removed to a dry place where they will 
not freeze. Corn saved in this way will be sure to grow next 
spring and the farmer will have no trouble in getting a good 
stand of plants. 

Testing. — When seed corn is selected at husking time care 
cannot be given to the kind of stalk on which the ear grew. 
The vitality of the seed may also have been injured by frosts 
and freezing weather. Such corn should be tested before 
planting in the spring. Corn is tested by planting several 














w®«iSlifeasS»^i^gg^i^||||||| 


»P#' ' 




Hfc.- 




Hi.. 

in 



15. TWO GOOD WAYS TO DRY SEED CORN 

The upper picture shows the seed ears hung to rafters of the tool shed; the lower 
picture shows racks made of lath and six-inch boards. Every farmer can use one 
or the other of these schemes. 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 



76 



AGRICULTUKE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



kernels, usually five, from each ear in a box in a moderately 
warm room. If four out of five kernels grow the ear is fit for 
seed, but it is better to have every kernel grow. There are 
many ways of testing the kernels, but the use of a box like 
that in Fig. 16 is good. The box is about 18 inches wide, 
24 inches long and 2 inches deep and filled with garden soil 



4*-/-%V-^»*5/-»fc^lBf'«S#,***»^l<^~* >, 



^^r ^c^^^xj^t' ^^^*-^ ^^tr^''^ ^^sv>W 



l6. TESTING VITALITY OF CORN — THIS IS ONE OF THE GOOD METHODS 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 



over which is a half-inch of clean sand. The top is divided 
into one and a half inch squares by means of wire. The five 
kernels from each ear are placed in a square. The ears may 
be tagged to correspond with the squares or be laid in regular 
order on a rack. When the squares are filled the kernels are 
pressed into the soil and the soil dampened. The box is now 
covered with glass or loosely woven cloth and put into a room 
having a temperature of about 70° F. In five days all the 



CORN 77 

kernels should be sprouted. (It may be necessary to wet the 
soil again during this time.) In examining the kernels care 
should be taken to notice whether or not both the stalk end 
and the root end of the germ have grown. Sometimes only 
one end grows. Such kernels should be discarded. Since 
one ordinary sized ear will plant one-fourteenth of an acre, 
the importance of having every ear a good one is easily seen. 

Choosing the Seed Ears. — The details for choosing the 
seed ears cannot all be given here. In the first place an ear 
of medium size should be chosen, the rows should be straight, 
and the ear should taper but very little from the butt to the 
tip. The kernels should keep their size out to the end of the 
tip, and there should be as many rows at the tip as there are 
at the butt. There should be but few irregularly shaped ker- 
nels at the butt or tip. The kernels should round out well 
over the cob at the butt and should come as near covering the 
cob at the tip as possible. However, it is better to have a 
little of the cob exposed at the tip than to have it covered with 
a large number of small, flinty kernels. The kernels should 
fit up tightly together at the cob, and there should be very 
little space between the rows on the outside. The kernels 
should not be sharply rough, neither should they be smooth. 
They should be longer than wide and taper just a little from 
the crown to the tip. When removed from the cob the tip of 
a kernel should not break off showing a black end. Such 
kernels are not well matured. The back of the kernel should 
be clear and flinty looking. The color should be uniform 
whether it be yellow, white, red or speckled. Kernels of any 
other color or different shades of the same color show mixture. 

Preparing for the Planter.— After selecting and testing, 
the ears are ready to be shelled. The shelling should not be 




1 7- GOOD SEED EARS 
Notice the cylindrical shape, straight rows, uniform kernels, and well-formed 
butts and tips. 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 




15. POOR SEED EARS 

Notice that these ears show characteristics just opposite to those in the cut above 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 



CORN 79 

done, however, very long before planting, for if put into large 
bags the kernels may *'heat'' and spoil the vitality. The tips 
and butts are shelled off and not planted because the planter 
will not plant them accurately, and usually the tips will not 
grow so well as the middle kernels. In shelling, the long- 
kerneled ears should be shelled separately from the short- 
kerneled ears. The planter plates should be tested so as to 
get the plate that will drop the desired number of kernels 
each time. Having found the right size it should be marked 
so that at planting time no mistake will be made. 

All of this seems like a good deal of care to take with the 
corn crop, but a big yield cannot be obtained from careless 
work. The average yield per acre for the corn belt states is 
near thirty bushels per acre, but many careful farmers are 
averaging seventy-five bushels, and many frequently raise 
a hundred bushels per acre. Such farmers take great care in 
selecting and preparing their seed corn and then use equally 
as great care in planting and cultivating the crop. 



CHAPTER X 
WHEAT 

Wheat is probably the oldest known cereal. The oldest 
books of which we have any knowledge speak of wheat, and 
specimens have been found in places which indicate that 
wheat was known before our oldest books were written. 
Without doubt wheat is a native of that part of the Old 
World where civilization first began. There are several 
mythological stories of its origin, one of which places its ori- 
gin in Sicily, whence it was distributed to Greece, Egypt 
and China. The earliest descriptions and the oldest speci- 
mens seem to show that wheat has had for centuries the same 
appearance that it now has. Wheat was brought to America 
by the earliest explorers and settlers. 

Wheat grows successfully through a very wide range of 
latitude. In North America it will grow as far north as 60 
degrees, and good crops can be raised in Cuba. In the Old 
World, good crops are raised in Egypt and Algeria, and as far 
north as 64 degrees in Norway. Extreme heat does not seem 
to be injurious unless it is accompanied by too much dryness 
or too much moisture. However, there is a great deal of 
difference in the quality of wheat under these ranges of tem- 
perature. That grown in the colder climates has a harder 
grain than that grown in warmer regions. The nitrogenous 
element in wheat is called gluten. When wheat is chewed a 

80 



WHEAT 81 

while in the mouth a sticky mass like chewing gum is ob- 
tained. This is gluten. The more elastic this gluten is the 
better such wheat will be for making flour to be used for 
bread. The hard, red, flinty wheats have the best quality of 
gluten, and hence make the highest grade of flour. The 
whiter, softer and more starchy wheats make good flour for 
pastry purposes. Wheat raised on soil rich in humus, in a 
climate where the summers are dry and hot, usually has hard 
red kernels which contain gluten of the best quality for bread 
making. 

Even in the United States there is so much variation in the 
quality of wheat, due mainly to climate, that the United 
States Department of Agriculture has divided it into eight 
wheat districts. We cannot give a detailed account of each 
of these districts, but it will probably be enough to say that 
the wheat of the southern and New England states gener- 
ally is rather soft and starchy and does not make good flour. 
The wheat grown in the states north of the Ohio River has 
a harder grain, but not hard enough to make the highest 
grade of flour. The spring wheat grown in the Northwest 
and the winter wheat of Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas have 
the hardest grains and make the highest grade of flour. In 
parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and South Dakota durum 
wheat is being raised extensively. This wheat is better 
adapted to dry and hot summers than other kinds of wheat. 
Durum wheat is used largely in making macaroni, and on 
this account is frequently called macaroni wheat. The wheat 
raised in the Rocky Mountain and coast states is generally 
white in color, soft and starchy. Hard wheats taken into this 
region and grown for a few years change so that they become 
soft and starchy. 



82 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

Kinds of Wheat. — There are eight kinds of wheat: com- 
mon bread, club or square head, poulard, durum, polish, 
spelt, emmer, and einkorn. 

Common bread wheat. With this group almost every boy 
and girl in the central states is familiar. The varieties of this 
class furnish most of the wheat flour used for making bread. 

Club or square head wheat. In this class the heads are 
usually a little larger at the top than at the base and are quite 
distinctly four-cornered. The varieties of this class have stiff 
straw and the heads do not shatter easily. The grain is used 
largely for making crackers and breakfast foods. 

Poulard wheat has stiff straw, stands dry weather well, and is 
not attacked by leaf rust. It is raised mostly in the Old World 
countries. Some varieties are used for making macaroni. 
' Durum wheat. The gluten in this wheat is of excellent 
quality and the grain is used largely for making macaroni 
and similar pastes. The wheat stands dry weather well and 
is not attacked by leaf rust. 

Polish wheat is raised mostly in countries along the Medi- 
terranean Sea and is used for making macaroni. 

Spelt is very little used for human food, being fed mainly to 
live stock as oats are fed. The grain is always held tightly in 
the chaff and cannot be threshed out. Instead of shattering, 
the head of spelt breaks in pieces. It is grown mostly in 
European countries. 

Emmer also has its grain held in the chaff, but not so tightly 
as that of spelt. The head also easily breaks in pieces. It 
is nearly always sown in spring, while spelt is sown in the 
autumn. Emmer is well adapted to our western states and is 
being grown to a considable extent for feeding to live stock. 
In Europe it is used by the peasants for food. 



WHEAT 83 

Einkorn is much like emmer, but is not at all improved 
over the wild form. It is entirely unknown in the United 
States and is little raised in Europe. It has about the same 
characteristics as emmer and spelt. 

Characteristics of the Common Bread Wheats. — As the 
bread wheat varieties are practically the only ones grown in 
the central states, we need give special attention only to this 
group. The varieties may be divided into two large classes in 
two ways: (1) The one which has awns or beards on the 
heads, called bearded varieties, and the one in which the 
heads have no beards, called smooth or bald varieties. (2) 
White varieties in which the grain is whitish or yellowish in 
color, and red varieties which have their grains red or amber 
colored. 

There is very little difference in the yielding power of these 
different classes. The Ohio Experiment Station made 144 
trials with white varieties and 627 trials with red varieties. 
The white averaged 27.3 bushels per acre and the red 27.8 
bushels. In 342 trials bearded varieties gave 25.9 bushels 
per acre and in 418 trials smooth varieties made 26.4 bushels. 
These differences are not large enough for us to favor one 
more than the other so far as yield is concerned. The fact of 
the matter is that some varieties are better than others, and 
they may be either smooth or bearded, or they may be either 
white or red. 

Red wheat as a rule is harder grained and usually contains 
a better quality of gluten. For this reason it is generally pre- 
ferred for making flour to be used for bread making. Bearded 
varieties seem to be more liable to blow down or lodge when 
full grown than smooth varieties, but bearded varieties are 
attacked by rust less than smooth varieties. This same state- 



84 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

ment is true concerning red and white varieties. A great 
many varieties of wheat are introduced into the United States 
from the wheat growing regions of Turkey and Russia. 
Most of these varieties are bearded, weak-stemmed, so that 
they lodge easily, and have hard, red grains which make ex- 
cellent flour. 

A farmer in selecting a variety of wheat for his farm should 
be guided by his soil and climate and the experiences of his 
neighbors as well as his own. Some varieties are better 
adapted for growing on clay soils than on loam soils, and some 
do better in rich "bottom" lands than others. Then, too, 
the amount of rainfall and the temperature in a region affect 
wheat varieties. Some can do well under dry, hot conditions, 
while others will be failures under the same conditions. 

Wheat Culture. — iSoi7.— Wheat is best adapted to a clay 
loam soil. It should not be sown on sandy or muck soils. It 
grows too rank and the heads do not fill well on muck soils, 
and sandy soils are apt to be too dry at heading time for the 
heads to fill well. By filling is meant the development of the 
kernels in the heads. 

Preparing the Seed Bed.— Wheat will usually repay all 
extra pains taken in the making of a proper seed bed. A 
proper seed bed is one that has about two and a half to three 
inches of fine loose soil over the top of a firm under-soil. 
Such a seed-bed permits the seed to be covered deep enough 
and at the same time induces a movement of capillary moisture 
upward to supply the needs of the young plant in autumn. 

Land for wheat is usually plowed in the autumn. The ear- 
lier it is plowed the better. It is better to plow six weeks 
before sowing than two weeks or one week before sowing. 
As soon as plowed the soil should be rolled and harrowed. 



WHEAT 85 

If it is mellow, harrowing may be all that is necessary. The 
object of early plowing and preparing is to allow the connec- 
tion of the furrow-slice to be reestablished with the under- 
soil. If no rolling or harrowing is done, the plowed land 
will dry out and be drier than if it had not been plowed. 
The field should be harrowed several times before the wheat 
is sown. If it is plowed six weeks before sowing, it would 
be well to harrow once a week until the wheat is sown. This 
would keep the weeds killed out and would stir the soil so 
that the sun and air would have a chance to make plant food 
ready for the young plants. The bacteria in the soil will be 
more active when the soil is plowed early and prepared in 
this way. 

Frequently wheat is sown in standing corn or after the corn 
has been cut. On fertile land this will usually give good re- 
sults, but the wheat can hardly ever be put in in as good shape 
as when sown on plowed land. Also, the corn plants have 
used up a good deal of the ready plant food in the soil and 
the young wheat plants are likely to suffer from lack of food. 
If wheat is sown on corn ground, the land should be cut up 
with a disk harrow and then leveled with a spike-tooth harrow. 
A spring-tooth harrow also does good work in loosening the 
soil in the place of a disk harrow. 

Date of Sowing. — The best date to sow wheat cannot be 
definitely stated. It will depend mainly upon the latitude of 
the place. The Hessian fly is likely to attack the early sown 
wheat, and when there is danger from this attack sowing 
should not be done until after the date of the depositing of 
the fly's eggs. This date can be found out by writing to the 
Entomologist of your Experiment Station. It is desirable 
to sow rather early in the autumn, if possible, because in so 



86 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

doing the wheat plants are enabled to make a strong growth 
and so better stand the cold weather of winter. 

Rate of Sowing. — Experiments have shown that six to 
eight pecks of wheat sown per acre will give better yields than 
less. Most farmers do not sow enough seed. Where the seed- 
ing is not thick enough the plants try to make up for the lack 
of seed by ''stooling" or ''tillering." By tillering is meant 
the starting of a number of stalks from one seed. At first 
only one stalk starts, but when conditions are favorable, one, 
two, three, or more, extra stalks start from the base of the 
first plant, so that there may be several heads of wheat pro- 
duced from one seed. Moist, cool weather and thin sowing 
are favorable to the tillering process. However, it is better 
to sow enough seed and not depend upon the stooling out. 

Wheat should be sown with a drill. The drill distributes 
the seed more evenly and covers it better, thus ensuring a 
better stand of plants. Scattering seed by hand, or broad- 
casting, is an old-time method, and should not be practised 
by careful farmers. Where sown broadcast the seed is cov- 
ered with a harrow. This does not cover evenly, and since 
the seed cannot be distributed evenly by hand, we cannot 
expect a good crop from such a method of sowing. 

Harvesting. — Wheat is ripe when the kernels are no 
longer soft and mushy. This can be told by pinching the 
kernel between the thumb and finger. At the time the kernels 
begin to harden the stems and blades begin to turn yellow. 
Farmers usually tell when wheat is ripe enough to cut by 
the yellow color of the straw. Wheat should be cut as soon as 
the kernel becomes hard and tough. If cut later, the grain 
will shatter out of the head and be lost. When wheat is dead 
ripe the heads begin to droop. It is now over-ripe and does 



WHEAT 87 

not make as good flour, nor as large a quantity, as when cut 
earlier. 

As soon as cut and bound by the binder the sheaves may 
be set up in shocks. A shock is usually composed of twelve 
sheaves, ten of which are stood upright on the stubble end so 
as to make a round or long shock. The other two are bent 
at the band and put on top of the shocks as cafs to keep the 
inside of the shock from getting wet. After the shocks have 
stood for a week or ten days they may be threshed or they 
may be stacked and threshed at a later time. Sometimes the 
shocks are left standing for several weeks before threshing, 
but this is risky, because of the loss from wet weather and in 
some cases from birds. 

Sweating. — When wheat is first stacked it draws damp, 
** sweats" as the farmers say, and gets warm. This is a per- 
fectly natural process, and in a few days it will begin to cool 
off and dry out. This sweating improves the quality of the 
grain. If the grain is threshed before it sweats, the sweating 
will take place in the bins, and here it frequently gets so hot 
that it is spoiled for future use. In such cases the wheat 
should be stirred every day for a few days. 



CHAPTER XI 

OTHER CEREALS 

Oats. — Oats are a crop that was brought into use first in 
the Old World. Their use does not seem to be so old as that 
of wheat, but they have been known and used for centuries. 
They are raised mostly within the north temperate zone. The 
north-central part of the United States and Canada grow 
most of the oats produced in America. However, oats grow- 
ing is extending in the southern states. Oats have come to be 
largely used for making breakfast foods, as -v^ell as for live 
stock feeding, so that their production is increasing. 

Oats are adapted to cool, moist climates, and for that reason 
the oats grown in northern climates are of better quality than 
those grown in southern sections. The northern varieties 
weigh more per bushel and have fewer beards on the hulls of 
the kernels. Southern varieties are frequently so beardy that 
they will not feed through the drill for sowing. The varieties 
of northern climates are usually white in color (there are some 
black varieties) ; those of the south are dirty white, dun and 
reddish brown. 

Soil and Preparation of Seed Bed. — Oats are suited to 
any soil except the very rich and the very sandy. A clay loam 
soil well drained is best. Oats usually do not need manur- 
ing and fertilizing like wheat, for they depend upon the left- 
over fertility of the last crop. In the corn belt states oats are 

88 



OTHER CEREALS 89 

largely sown without plowing the ground. The crop is usu- 
ally sown on corn stubble ground, in which case the land is 
disked and harrowed and the oats drilled. On prairie farms 
most of the crop is sown with broadcast seeders and the 
grain covered by disking and harrowing. However, land 
which has been plowed and carefully prepared will usually 
bring larger results than land not so carefully prepared. 

Seeding. — Farmers try to sow their oats as early in spring 
as possible. There are two reasons for this : one is to get the 
work out of the way and the other is that oats do better when 
sown in the cool and moist part of the growing season. South 
of the latitude of the Ohio River a great deal of oats is sown 
in autumn. In the north the cold winter freezes the autumn- 
sown oats and kills them. Seed of the best quality only should 
be sown. It should be run through a fanning mill and all the 
light grain winnowed out. Experiments by Professor Zavitz, 
of Ontario Agricultural College, show that plump, heavy seed 
will give a larger yield than common seed. The amount 
of seed sown per acre varies a great deal. It depends upon 
the soil and the method of sowing. On rich land not so 
much seed need be sown as on poor land, because plants will 
be stronger and stool out more. When sown with broadcast 
seeders more seed should be used than when the seed is 
drilled. Two and one-half bushels per acre is an average 
sowing. Many farmers sow two bushels per acre, while 
others sow much more. It is said that as much as seven and 
one-half bushels per acre are sown in Scotland.* Heavy 
seeding generally gives best results. Oats should not be 
covered too deeply; about one inch deep is best when the 
land is in good condition. 

* Bailey's Cyclopedia of Agriculture. 



90 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

Harvesting. — What has been said about the harvesting 
and threshing of wheat appHes also to oats. Oats should 
stand in the shock until they are well dried out before being 
stacked or threshed. 

Varieties. ^There are many varieties of oats. All may be 
classed in two large groups, the spreading oats and the side 
oats. In the first group the branches of the oats head spread 
out in all directions from the central part, while in the second 
group all the branches seem to be on one side of the head. 
The spreading varieties are considered better yielders than 
the side varieties. Black varieties are not generally consid- 
ered such good yielders as the white. There are some vari- 
eties which have yellowish hulls. In the southern states the 
varieties are nearly all reddish-brown or gray. There are 
varieties which have very loose hulls around the kernel, so 
that in threshing the kernel is completely hulled out. This 
kind of oats is called ''huUess'^ and is not a profitable kind 
to grow. Oat varieties differ a good deal in their time of 
ripening. As a rule those which ripen medium early are the 
best yielders. 

Rye. — Rye has been known in the Old World for more 
than 2,000 years. However, it is not so old as wheat and 
barley. It originated along the Mediterranean Sea and in 
Western Asia. It is said still to grow wild in the unsettled 
parts of those regions. Rye is not so important as the other 
cereals. The amount raised seems to be decreasing. In this 
country it is raised partly because of the value of the 
straw. 

Culture of Rye. — The cultivated plant became known 
first in North-eastern Europe. Rye is adapted to a wide 
range of climate and does better than wheat in extremely cold 



OTHER CEREALS 91 

regions. It will grow on soil too poor to produce good crops 
of wheat. It is also grown on land on which wheat is killed 
out by the winter. The seed-bed for rye should be prepared 
exactly as for wheat. Rye is usually sown a few days earlier 
than wheat, but may also be sown quite late. About one and 
a half to two bushels of seed per acre are sown. The harvest- 
ing and threshing are the same as for wheat, but extra care 
must be taken that the grain is quite dry before storing it in 
bins, for it will mould very easily. 

Varieties and Characteristics.— There are few varieties 
of rye, probably owing to the easy mixing of varieties when 
sown close together. Rye grows much taller than wheat and 
the kernels are not completely covered by the chaff. Rye heads 
out and blossoms much sooner than wheat, but it ripens at 
about the same time. The straw from rye is quite valuable 
for packing purposes, because of its length and toughness. 
Rye is seldom injured by insects, smut, or rust. A disease 
called ergot sometimes attacks it. This will be spoken of in 
another place. 

Barley.— The history of barley is as old as that of wheat. 
In ancient Egypt it was used as food for man and beast and 
also for beer. Down to the sixteenth century it was the 
principal bread plant of the civilized world. With the de- 
velopment of wheat culture and the introduction of potatoes 
from America its use began to decrease. 

Culture. — Barley will grow under a wider range of climate 
and soil conditions than any other cereal. It will grow well 
in regions of small rainfall and it matures in less time than 
oats and spring wheat. Barley comes to its highest perfec- 
tion on rich, sandy loam soil, well-drained. It should not be 
grown in a field that has had a root crop, i. e., turnips or 



92 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

sugar beets, the year before; nor should it be raised several 
years in succession on the same field. 

The preparation of the seed-bed for barley is the same as 
that for wheat or oats. In some parts of the country barley is 
sown in autumn, but in most places it is sown in spring. 
From one and a half to four bushels of seed per acre are 
sown. Barley does not stool out much, hence a good deal of 
seed is required. Barley should be harvested before it be- 
comes over-ripe, and great care must be taken to shock it so 
that the heads do not become discolored by rain and dew. 
This care is necessary if the grain is to be sold to brewers. If 
the grain is to be fed to live stock such care is not so necessary. 

There are not many varieties of barley. They are classified 
as six-rowed, four-rowed, and two-rowed varieties, according 
to the arrangement of the grains on the head. The varieties 
may also be grouped as bearded and beardless. The beard- 
less varieties are quite new and were developed because of the 
strong objection by farmers to the beards on the common 
barley. In most varieties the hull remains attached to the 
kernel after threshing, but there are a few varieties in which 
the kernels thresh out clean like wheat. 

Rice. — While rice is not grown in many states of the 
Union, it has become such an important crop in some of 
them that a brief mention of it here will not be out of place. 
Rice furnishes food for more people than any other plant. 
It is cultivated in the warm regions throughout the world. 
In the United States its culture is limited to the Gulf States 
and Arkansas. Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas produce 
most of the rice raised in this country. 

Culture. — The rice plant grows best in a rich, clay loam 
soil. The rice fields are usually located along streams or 



OTHER CEREALS 93 

where they can be easily flooded with water. The land 
is prepared as for wheat and the grain is sowed in drills or 
broadcast at the rate of about fifty-five to eighty pounds 
per acre. As soon as the plants come up water is turned 
on from the streams or is pumped on from large wells. 
This is called ** flooding.'* The flooding is accomplished 
by means of canals run across the fields and so arranged 
that by means of *' gates" in the banks the water can be 
turned on or shut off as desired. The object of the flooding 
is to kill grass and weeds and to furnish an abundance of 
moisture. The field is left covered with water for several 
days; then it is withdrawn and the field allowed to dry a few 
days, when the water is turned on again. The process of 
flooding and drying is repeated until harvest time, when the 
water is withdrawn to allow the ground to dry so that binders 
can be used. Rice is cut before it gets fully ripe, just as the 
straw begins to turn yellow. It is carefully shocked and 
usually stacked. When threshed the hull remains on the rice 
kernel and it is necessary to run it through another mill to 
remove the kernel. The hulled grain is then run through 
another mill, which polishes it, and it is ready for market. 
Much of the work in rice growing is done by hand, but 
on the large fields modern machinery is being brought 
into use. 

Millet. — In the United States millet is not grown very 
extensively for seed and such as is produced is used for 
bird seed, and for sowing future crops. However, in Russia, 
China, and India, millions of bushels of millet seed are used 
for human food. In those countries it has been used for 
food for centuries. Russia grows about eighty million bush- 
els of millet annually. Japan uses about thirty-five million 



94 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

bushels of seed each year for human food, and in India thirty- 
five to forty miUion acres of millet are grown annually. The 
kinds of millet and their culture will be described in the chap- 
ter on forage crops. 

Buckwheat. — Buckwheat is a native of the Old World, 
where it has been cultivated in nearly every country for cen- 
turies. It is not properly a cereal, but because its seeds are 
used for human food it is spoken of in this chapter. It is 
closely related to such plants as rhubarb, sour dock, and 
smartweed, and if the seeds of these plants be compared with 
the buckwheat seed it is easily seen that they resemble each 
other very much. The name buckwheat seems to come from 
a German word, buchweizen, meaning beech-wheat, a name 
given to it because the seed looks so much like a beech-nut. 

Only about fifteen million bushels of buckwheat are raised 
in the United States. New York and Pennsylvania grow 
about two-thirds of this amount. Buckwheat grows best in 
a cool, moist climate, although warm weather is helpful dur- 
ing the first few weeks of growth. Hot weather and showers 
at flowering time are almost sure to cause a failure, because 
the seed does not form well from the blossoms. Buckwheat 
ripens seed in a shorter time than any other grain crop, eight 
or ten weeks being enough time to grow a crop of buckwheat. 

Buckwheat grows best on light, well-drained soil. It does 
well also on poor land, or land poorly farmed. Buckwheat is 
usually not manured or fertilized, but it will respond to appli- 
cations of manures and fertilizers as well as any crop. It 
leaves the land in good shape for wheat or potatoes. It is 
said that oats and corn do not do well after buckwheat. The 
land should not be heavily fertilized. Also, farmers should 
not attempt to grow buckwheat on very rich land, for it will 



OTHER CEREALS 95 

easily lodge and a good yield will not be obtained. The land 
should be plowed early in spring, harrowed down, and har- 
rowed at various times to kill out weeds until time to sow. 
Often the land is not plowed until late, and then it is not put 
in good shape for the seed. The seed is sown about the first 
of July at the rate of about one bushel per acre. It may be 
sown in drills or broadcast. 

Buckwheat keeps on blossoming and producing seed until 
killed by frost. The crop should be cut before heavy frosts. 
Some of the green kernels will mature as the plants dry out. 
The crop is usually cut with a self-rake reaper or with a 
mower. The threshing should be done as soon as the stems 
are fully dried out. The grain should not be stored at first 
in large piles or tight bins as it heats easily and spoils. 

Cow-peas and Soy-beans.— The growing of these plants 
will be spoken of in the chapter on forage crops, for they are 
grown as much or more for hay than for the seed. The seeds 
of both of these plants are used for human food and for live 
stock. In the southern states cow-peas are highly prized for 
table use, and in Asia the soy-bean furnishes a part of the 
human diet. In America, however, the seeds of both plants 
are used mainly for feeding live stock. Cow-peas are pastured 
off by hogs or ground for feeding to cattle. Soy-beans can be 
fed in the same way. Soy-beans have been fed to all classes 
of live stock with good results. Neither cow-pea nor soy- 
bean seed should be fed alone, but should be mixed with 
four or five times its weight of corn or other grain. 



CHAPTER XII 
ROOTS, TUBERS, BULBS 

Soils and Preparation. — In a general way all root crops 
do best in soil which is not too heavy. A loam soil with a 
good proportion of fine sand in it seems to be best, for such 
a soil permits the roots to develop smooth and uniform. The 
plowing for root crops should be deep, for all the true root 
crops have long tap roots which strike deeply into the soil, and 
if the soil is loose deep down they have an opportunity to 
grow large and well formed. After plowing the seed-bed 
should be made as fine as possible. The seeds of most of the 
true root crops are quite small and need a fine, mellow seed- 
bed or they will not germinate well. If the land is plowed 
early in spring and then harrowed several times until the time 
of planting, the weeds will be pretty well killed out. One 
should not try to raise root crops on weedy land. 

Carrots. — The carrot is the best root for feeding to horses. 
It is also used for human food. Carrots require rich, mellow 
soil, free from weeds. The young carrot plants are quite 
small and delicate and weeds easily choke them out. The 
seed is sown in drills eighteen to twenty-four inches apart, 
from the middle of May to the middle of June, at the rate 
of one and a half to two pounds of seed per acre. Owing to 
the small size of the plants some hand work will be necessary 

96 



ROOTS, TUBERS, BULBS 97 

in the first cultivation. The plants should be thinned until 
they stand about four to six inches apart in the row. They 
grow slowly at first and require careful attention. The roots 
should be gathered before freezing weather, dried in the open 
air, and then stored in a cool, dry place. Carrots will yield 
from fifteen to twenty tons per acre. 

Mangel-wurtzels. — These are commonly called mangels. 
They are more widely used as a root crop for winter feeding 
than any of the other roots. The varieties differ in shape, color 
and size. The name of a variety is frequently made up of 
words indicating all three of these characters, as, for example, 
the Giant Long Red. The shapes are of three kinds, the 
globe, ovoid, and long. There is little difference in the value 
of these sorts. The globe and ovoid sorts are probably 
better than the long varieties, being more solidly fleshed and 
better keepers. Mangels grow with part of the root out of 
the ground. The long varieties have as much as half of 
the root above ground. This part of the root is not so good 
for food as the underground part. 

Mangels require a deep surface soil so that the roots can 
grow downward without being hindered. Subsoiling may be 
advisable in some cases in order to get a deep seed-bed. Seed 
is sown in drills twenty-four to thirty inches apart, in May or 
early June, at the rate of four to six pounds per acre. The 
seed sprouts slowly and the growth at first is slow, so that a 
good deal of care in cultivation is necessary to keep the weeds 
down. The plants should be thinned to eight to twelve inches 
apart in the row. The roots are harvested before hard freez- 
ing weather and stored in cellars or bins for winter feeding. 
A box-stall closed up makes a good place to store them. In 
gathering the crop the tops should be twisted off by hand 



yS AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

rather than cut off with a knife, as the roots keep better when 
so topped. Twenty to thirty tons of roots per acre is a com- 
mon crop. 

Sugar Beets. — Sugar Beets are improved mangels and 
require almost exactly the same treatment. The sugar beet 
contains more sugar than the mangel and in some states is 
extensively raised for the manufacture of sugar. About twice 
as much seed is required per acre and the plants should be 
about twice as close in the row. For sugar production roots 
weighing about a pound are desired. Small sized roots are 
richer in sugar than the large sized ones. When grown to 
feed, large roots are desirable, for they require less labor to 
harvest. Fifteen to twenty tons per acre arc raised under 
ordinary conditions. 

Parsnips. — Parsnips are raised mainly for table use in 
America, but they also furnish an excellent food for milch 
cows. In the Island of Jersey, where Jersey cattle came 
from, they are extensively raised for that purpose. The pars- 
nip is very deep-rooted and requires deep soil for good re- 
sults. The seed is sown in spring in rows eighteen to twenty- 
four inches apart, using about four pounds of seed per acre. 
The plants should be cultivated and thinned like carrots. 
Parsnips are not injured by freezing and only such as are 
needed for winter use need be gathered. They yield ten to 
fifteen tons per acre. 

Turnips. — There are two classes of turnips, the English 
and the Swedish. The English turnip is the kind usually 
grown in gardens and truck patches for table use, and the seed 
is usually sown in summer after some early crop, like sweet 
corn, potatoes or peas, has been harvested. It is nearly always 
sown broadcast without much attention being given to the 



ROOTS, TUBERS, BULBS 99 

amount of seed, but the proper amount is about two or three 
pounds per acre. 

EngHsh turnips grow very rapidly and are soon large 
enough to use. They produce at the rate of ten to fifteen 
tons per acre. 

Swedish turnips are frequently called ruta-bagas and this 
is generally shortened to "bagas." They are also called 
''Swedes." Swedish turnips are used mostly for feeding live 
stock, but can also be used for the table. They grow larger 
and require a longer season to reach full growth than the 
English turnips. They will not grow so well in warm tem- 
perate climates as the English turnips, but are best suited to 
the climate of our northern border states and Canada. They 
should be sown in drills about two feet apart, using about one 
pound of seed to the acre. They should be cultivated the 
same as other root crops and thinned to five or six inches 
apart in the row. Twenty or more tons to the acre can be 
grown. 

All kinds of turnips are hardy and do not need to be gath- 
ered until the ground begins to freeze. It is better to store tur- 
nips in trenches or mounds of earth, for when put into dry cel- 
lars they lose moisture and become pithy and not good to use. 

Potatoes. — Potatoes are not roots, but tubers. The po- 
tato is a native of America. The Indians were growing it 
when the first colonists came to this country. When the po- 
tato was introduced into the Old World it became a source 
of food for millions of people. In this country it is used 
chiefly for food. It is also used for the manufacture of 
starch, but not to such an extent as in other countries, for 
we have Indian corn which is a cheaper source of starch. 

Potatoes do best in loam soils having a tendency to become 



100 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

sandy. Muck soils have been found quite favorable to po- 
tato growing A clover sod on well-drained loam soil is, per- 
haps, the best possible foundation for a large yield of potatoes. 
The land should be plowed deeply; and if it is plowed in the 
fall and then again in the spring it will be all the better, for 
potatoes like mellow soil. It should be thoroughly pulverized 
as deep as plowed. The land can be manured with stable 
manure, but large potato growers prefer to use commercial 
fertilizers, for manure is likely to cause scab and rot, two 
diseases that are quite damaging to the crop. 

Where potatoes are planted by hand it is a good plan to 
furrow out the field with a single-shovel plow and drop the 
seed potatoes in the bottom of the furrow. The seed planted 
for the future crop is not the real seed of the potato, but a 
tuber or a piece of one. This is called the seed-piece. If 
potatoes are planted in furrows it will not be necessary to ridge 
the rows in order to keep the new potatoes covered. The 
new potatoes do not form any lower down in the soil than the 
position of the seed-piece, so that there is danger of the new 
potatoes being too near the surface and becoming green from 
the sun, a condition which spoils them for use. When potatoes 
are grown on a large scale they are planted by a machine 
drawn by horses. This machine makes a furrow, drops the 
seed-piece and covers it. The seed-pieces planted are usu- 
ally prepared beforehand by cutting a whole potato into two 
or more pieces according to its size. Every piece should have 
one or more "eyes." The "eye" is the place on the tuber 
where the new plant starts. It is best to let the cut pieces lie 
for a few hours until the cut surfaces have dried. The seed- 
pieces will then not rot so easily in the ground if the weather 
is not favorable for growth. 



ROOTS, TUBERS, BULBS 101 

Potatoes are usually planted in drills three feet or more 
apart and the seed-pieces dropped about fifteen to twenty 
inches apart in the row. They may also be planted in hills 
three feet or more apart, dropping two or three pieces in a 
hill. The seed-pieces should be covered about four inches 
deep, or planted about two inches deep in a slight furrow 
and filled in by cultivation after the plants come up. 

Cultivation can begin as soon as necessary. Even if the 
plants are not up, the rows are easily followed, and if a slight 
covering of soil is thrown over the row no harm is done, but 
rather good, for the plants will come through it and the row 
will have fewer weeds. The purpose of cultivation is, as in 
other cultivated crops, to keep down weeds and preserve the 
moisture. Level cultivation should be given and it may 
continue until the plants come in blossom, or so many tops 
cover the row that they are injured by the horse and cul- 
tivator. 

Early potatoes are usually dug as soon as possible and put 
on the market. Late potatoes are allowed to mature fully 
before digging. They are then marketed for winter use or 
stored in cellars to be sold out during the winter or early the 
next spring. Cellars should be kept just a little above the 
freezing point. If too warm the potatoes produce sprouts 
and their quality for food is thereby injured. Small patches 
are usually dug by hand, but in large fields potato-diggers 
drawn by horses are used. Care should be taken not to dig 
potatoes when the ground is too wet, for the soil will stick to 
the tubers and spoil their appearance. An ordinary crop is 
100 bushels per acre, but professional growers expect from 
250 to 300 bushels per acre. Yields as high as 500 to 1,000 
bushels per acre have been reported. 



102 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

Sweet Potatoes. — While the sweet potato is called a tuber 
it is really only a thickened root. The sweet potato is of trop- 
ical origin and does best in the southern states, but is grown 
more or less in nearly all the northern states. The quality, 
however, is not so good as when grown farther south. Sweet 
potatoes are best adapted to sandy loam soils. The plants 
are started by planting seed potatoes in hot beds. Sprouts 
soon start up. These are pulled off and reset where they are 
wanted to grow. The plants soon begin to grow rapidly and 
need little care after the vines begin to form, except to keep 
down large weeds. The vines should be cut loose from the 
hills before killing frosts, as the potatoes are injured in quality 
if the vines are killed by frosts while still attached. The po- 
tatoes should be dug before cold weather and stored in a cool, 
dry place. 

Artichokes. — The artichoke is a tuber. It is a tall grow- 
ing plant with a yellow blossom resembling the sunflower. 
Artichokes are not raised extensively and are used almost 
entirely for feeding hogs, although sometimes for table use 
also. They are planted like potatoes and are usually not cul- 
tivated very much, but cultivation gives best results. The 
plant lives over from year to year and does not need replanting. 
In fact, when they are not cared for, artichokes run wild and 
become troublesome as weeds. Hogs are turned into the field 
in autumn and are allowed to harvest the crop by rooting out 
the tubers. Enough will be left in the ground to produce a 
good crop another year. Hogs are very fond of artichokes and 
gain in size and flesh quite rapidly while feeding on them. 

Onions. — The onion is a bulb and is used by almost every 
one as an article of food. Onions are never used as food for 
live stock. Onion growing in some states has become quite 



ROOTS, TUBERS, BULBS 



103 



extensive. New York, Ohio, Indiana and the New England 
states produce the bulk of the onion crop. 

Onions do best on well-drained loams which are not very 
sandy. Large crops are also raised on muck soils, when 
properly fertilized. For onions the soil should be thoroughly 




19. AN ONION FIELD 

A harvesting scene in an Indiana field 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 

prepared. If the land is plowed in the autumn and again 
in the spring it is all the better. It should be pulverized, so 
that the seed will have the proper chance to sprout. Some- 
times hand raking is done to get a surface of fine soil. Muck 
soil is more easily prepared than loam. Land for onions 
should be as free as possible from weeds. When once a field 
has been put in shape for onions, it is usually planted with 
them three or four years. Since weeds are not at all desir- 



104 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

able, stable manure is not much used for fertilizing, but com- 
mercial fertilizers are largely used. Fertilizers containing 
a good deal of potash and phosphoric acid are desirable. 
Land used for onion growing should be limed every six or 
seven years. 

The onion seed should be planted in spring as early as the 
field can be prepared. Where onions are grown on a large 
scale the seed is sown with special hand machines. Fourteen 
inches apart is about the right distance for the rows. About 
four pounds of seed per acre are used . 

Onions require careful cultivation. This is usually done 
by hand labor with hoes and hand cultivators. Those who 
thin and weed the rows usually work on hands and knees. 
Onions are ripe when the tops begin to fall down and die. 
They are then pulled and thrown into rows to dry. When 
the tops are fully dry, the onions are ready to store. Some 
growers store them without cutting off the tops; others cut 
off the tops. They are usually stored in bushel crates. 

If the onions are to be sold to shippers soon, the farmer 
usually ranks up the crates in the field, covering them to keep 
off rain. Some growers have a special shed for storing, which 
has sides that can be opened to give a circulation of air. 
When stored for winter they are put into cool, dry cellars, 
and sometimes into large warehouses. Onions are heavy 
yielders, giving 500 to 600 bushels per acre for ordinary 
crops and frequently as much as 1,000 bushels. 



CHAPTER XIII 
FORAGE CROPS 

A forage crop is one used for coarse feed for live stock. 
Sometimes the material used for forage is called "roughage." 
Forage crops are used in four ways: 1. As hay. The plants 
are cut green and dried in the sun. Grasses and clovers 
mostly are used for hay. 2. As silage. The plants are cut 
green and run through a machine which cuts them into short 
pieces and these are stored in an air-tight bin, called a silo. 
Green corn is commonly used for silage. 3. Soiling is cut- 
ting the plants green and feeding them at once to animals in 
their stalls or pastures. Sorghum, peas and oats, and corn 
are crops often used for soiling. 4. As pasture. The crop is 
eaten where it grows. 

Hay. — For hay many kinds of plants are used, chiefly 
grasses, clovers, millets, cow-peas and soy-beans. 

Timothy and orchard grass are the grasses most com- 
monly used. Timothy does well on heavy soils like clay and 
loam. It also grows well on muck soils, but is apt to become 
too coarse stemmed. The seed is usually sown in autumn 
with wheat or rye. After the grain is cut the timothy occu- 
pies the field and the next year is cut for hay and may be used 
several years for cutting. Timothy is sometimes sowed alone 
in the fall on well-prepared land. It then produces a crop 

the next year. A bushel of seed is used for about six acres of 

105 



106 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

land. It should be cut for hay for horses just after the bloom 
begins to fall. For cattle it should be cut just as it is coming 
into blossom. It is then not so woody. 

Orchard grass will grow on drier soils than timothy. The 
seed is sown in autumn or spring on wheat ground or loam. 
It takes about two bushels of orchard grass seed to the acre 
to ensure a good stand of plants. Orchard grass is ready to 
cut for hay before timothy, so the two grasses should never 
be sown together. It should be cut as soon as it begins to 
blossom, or else the stems will get too firm and woody to 
make good hay. 

Red Top is a grass much used for hay in the eastern states, 
but it does not give as heavy a yield per acre as timothy. A 
good timothy or orchard grass crop should give two tons of 
dry hay to the acre. 

The clovers are much used for hay, especially for cattle 
and sheep. Timothy and orchard grass are much better for 
horses. There are four clovers used for hay. 

Red Clover. — ^This clover usually lives two years, hence 
it is a biennial. A biennial is a plant that produces blos- 
soms and seeds the second year after the seed is sown. It 
grows best on loam soils. It is sown broadcast in the spring 
on wheat ground or with oats. Usually the seed is sown in 
February or March on wheat ground at the rate of one bushel 
to five or six acres of ground. The seed is worked into the 
ground by the freezing and thawing, and when the weather 
becomes warm enough it sprouts and grows. Sometimes the 
seed is sown later and covered by harrowing with a spike- 
tooth harrow. The harrowing does not injure the wheat. 
After the grain is cut the young clover plants grow up rapidly, 
if the weather is good, and furnish fall pasture. The next 



FORAGE CROPS 107 

year the plants produce blossoms and are cut for hay. Red 
clover soon grows up again after being cut and blossoms the 
second time. This second crop can be cut for hay or be 
allowed to ripen and be cut for seed. When a plant goes to 
seed it usually dies and there is no plant for next year. 

Making Clover Hay. — In cutting clover for hay, the green 
plants are cut when about one-third of the blossoms have 
begun to turn brown. At this time the clover plants will 
make the most nutritious hay. The cut plants are allowed to 
lie in the swath until almost dry, when they are raked into 
windrows where they may dry more. Then the windrows 
are gathered in piles or haycocks. .These may stand in 
the field a day or two or be hauled to the barn at once. In 
making hay from any of the clovers, it should be the aim of 
the farmer to save all the leaves, for they contain much food 
material. 

Mammoth Clover.— This is also called Big English clover 
and sometimes Pea-vine clover. It grows larger than the red 
clover and makes only one crop in a season. Mammoth clover 
can be told from red clover by the absence of the crescent- 
shaped light green spot on its leaflets, which is found on the 
leaflets of red clover, and by its larger size and later blossoming. 
Mammoth clover grows well on wetter soil than red clover. 
The seed is sown at the same time and at the same rate as 
red clover. Mammoth clover does not make quite as good 
hay as the red clover, because it is coarser and has more fuzz 
on the stems, which makes the hay dusty. Dusty hay gives 
horses the heaves. Mammoth clover does well to grow with 
timothy for mixed hay, because the two plants blossom to- 
gether. Red clover can be grown best with orchard grass, 
for their time of blossoming is the same. 



108 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



Crimson Clover. — This is also called German clover. It 
lives only one year, that is, it is an annual. The seed is sown 
in the autumn, usually August for the corn-belt states. The 

next spring it heads out 
and produces beautiful, 
deep red blossoms. This 
clover does not stand 
the winters north of the 
Ohio River very well, 
hence it is not largely 
grown there. The hay 
is too woolly to be first 
class. This clover is best 
for pasture and green 
manuring, and is used 
quite largely in the 
southern states for such 
purposes. Crimson clo- 
ver does best on loose, 
sandy loam soils. The 
seed is sown at the rate 
of fifteen pounds to the 
acre. 

Alsike Clover, also 

known as Swedish Clo- 

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20. THE LARGE ROOT SYSTEM OF THE 
CLOVER PLANT 

Showing the large number of nodules on the 
roots. It is these that make the clover plant 
so beneficial to the soil 

By courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agricul- 
ture — Bureau of Plant Industry 



ver. 
finer stems and leaves than the other clovers, 
soms are beautiful pink and resemble those of white clover 
except that they are more deeply colored. Alsike clover does 
well on wetter soils than any of the other clovers. It makes 
finer hay than any of the others. Only one crop can be cut 



FORAGE CROPS 109 

from this clover in a season. This crop can be used for hay 
or for seed. Alsike clover does not die out after producing 
seed like the other clovers, but continues to live for several 
years. It is a perennial. It is a good clover to sow with tim- 
othy, as both plants blossom together and so are ready to cut 
at the same time. Alsike and timothy are good to sow to- 
gether on wet lands and on muck lands. It takes about six 
pounds of seed to sow an acre. The seed is sown in the 
spring. 

Other Clovers. — Bur clover and Japan clover are not real 
clovers. They are grown in the southern states and are there 
quite useful, but they have no place on the farms in the 
north. Bokhara clover or sweet clover is considered a weed 
in most places, but some attempts have been made to use it 
for hay, especially in the South. It grows in waste places and 
along roadsides. It has white blossoms and gives off a pleas- 
ant odor when wilting. It is a good fertilizer for the ground. 
There is also a yellow variety of sweet clover. 

Alfalfa. — Alfalfa is not a clover, but is closely related to 
the clovers. It is a legume and, like all the clovers and other 
legumes, gathers nitrogen to enrich the soil. Alfalfa originated 
in Western Asia. It is rather a new crop for the states east 
of the Mississippi River, but has been grown for many years 
in the dry western states. It seems to do better in irrigated 
regions than elsewhere. Alfalfa grows best on well-drained 
sandy soils, but has been grown successfully on every kind of 
soil except wet. The seed may be sown in spring, summer, 
or autumn. Best results have been obtained in Ohio and 
Indiana from sowing the seed in summer or early autumn on 
land that was plowed in the spring and kept free from weeds 
by harrowing. The amount of seed sown is about twelve to 



110 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



fifteen pounds per acre. Alfalfa lives for many years when 
once it gets a start. The plants are cut for hay when about 
one-fifth of the heads are in blossom. As soon as cut new 




21. A COW-PEA PLANT 

Some varieties produce more vines than this one 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 



growth starts up and in a few weeks it can be cut again for 
hay. Usually three or four crops can be cut from the same 
field in a season. The hay is cured the same as clover, but 
more care needs to be taken to save the leaves, as they drop 
off easily as soon as dry. 



FORAGE CROPS 111 

Cow-peas. — The cow-pea is a leguminous, viny plant, very 
much used for hay in those states bordering on the Ohio River 
and in all the southern states. The use of the seed has al- 
ready been mentioned. The cow-pea is an Old World plant, 
coming from Asia. It is more like a bean than a pea, for it 
has long pods like bean pods and the seeds of most varieties 
look like the beans which we plant in gardens. The blossoms 
are beautiful, resembling pea blossoms. TJie cow-pea grbws 
well on sandy and loam soils. The land should be prepared 
as for corn. The seed is not planted until the weather has 
become warm, usually after corn-planting. The seed rftay be 
sown in drills, twenty-four inches or more apart, with the 
plants standing about three or four inches apart in the rows. 
Or, the seed may be sown broadcast with the drill or by hand. 
When sown in drills a half bushel of seed per acre is neces- 
sary; when sown broadcast about twice as much seed is 
used. If sown in drills the plants should be cultivated like 
corn. They should not be cultivated when wet with dew, for 
the leaves will be injured. Cow-peas may be cut for hay, or 
pastured, or cut green for soiling. When cut for hay the 
vines should be thrown into piles as soon as they are wilted, so 
as to save the leaves. When some of the pods have begun to 
ripen it is time to cut for hay. Cow-peas also make excellent 
material to turn under for enriching the land. 

Soy-beans. — The soy-bean is a native of Japan. It will 
grow well farther north than the cow-pea. It is an upright 
growing plant with small, purplish or whitish blossoms, and 
short hairy pods containing two, three, or four seeds. The 
soy-bean is grown mostly for seed, but is also useful for hay, 
especially for sheep. The time, method, and rate of sowing 
are the same as for cow-peas. Care should be taken in culti- 



112 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



vating not to cultivate when the leaves are wet with dew, for 
this sometimes injures the leaves. Soy-beans are cut for hay 
when the pods are about two-thirds grown and before any of 

the leaves begin to 
turn yellow. When 
the soy-bean plant 
gets ripe all the 
leaves fall off, so if 
hay is to be made it 
must be done while 
the plants are yet 
green. Soy-beans 
are also good to 
plow under for 
green manuring. 

Vetches. — There 
are several kinds 
of vetch. The most 
common are spring 
vetch and sand, 
winter, or hairy 
vetch. The hairy 
vetch is more suc- 
cessful than the 
spring vetch. It is 
sown in the autumn, usually with rye or wheat, and cut the 
next spring before the wheat or rye is ripe, thus making a 
mixed hay. Vetches do particularly well on poor ground. 
It takes about three pecks of seed with a bushel of wheat 
or rye to sow an acre. Vetch should not be allowed to 
ripen seed or it may become a troublesome weed. 




22. A TYPICAL SOY-BEAN PLANT 

Notice the nodules at the base of the plant and 
on the roots. These are full of bacteria which 
gather nitrogen from the air 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 



FORAGE CROPS 113 

Millets. — There are several kinds of millets. All of them 
have come to us from the Old World. In India certain kinds 
of millets are raised for seed and used for human food. In 
America millets are raised almost entirely for forage. A 
small quantity of seed is produced, but it is used mostly for 
sowing again and for bird-seed. Millets are grown mostly as 
catch crops. A catch crop is one planted late in the season 
after it is seen that some other crop is going to be a failure, 
or, when the farmer finds that he will not have enough hay 
for his needs. Millet is one of the principal "catch crops." 
All millets are grass-like plants. 

There are four classes of millets : 

1. Foxtail millets when headed out look much like the 
weed called foxtail. There are many varieties of the foxtail 
millets. The best known varieties are Common, German, 
and Hungarian millets. The Hungarian is finer stemmed 
than any of the others and makes the best hay. Foxtail mil- 
lets grow best on well-prepared loam soils. The seed is sown 
broadcast at the rate of one-half to three-fourths of a bushel 
per acre. It should then be covered lightly with a harrow. The 
seeds soon germinate, and the plants grow rapidly. As soon as 
millet heads out and blossoms it should be cut for hay. If the 
seed is allowed to form and get solid, the hay is not safe feed 
for horses. Millet is cut and dried for hay just as other grasses. 

2. The Barnyard millets are quite different from the fox- 
tail millets. They are coarser stemmed and have a more 
branched head. The seed is larger and not so heavy. This 
class of millets requires richer and damper soils than any of 
the others. The seed is sown at the rate of about one and a 
fourth bushels per acre. This millet is almost too coarse for 
good hay and is not much in favor with farmers. 



114 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



3. Broom-corn millets are so-called because the heads of 
the plants are quite long and branching like broom-corn or 
sorghum. It is also called Hog millet. This millet is quicker 
growing than the others and produces a heavy crop of seed. 




23. A PLOT OF GERMAN MILLET READY TO CUT FOR HAY 

This patch was about five feet tall and made four tons of hay per acre 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 



The stems are covered with short hairs, so that they do not 
make first-class hay. About three pecks of seed are sown 
per acre. 

4. Cat-tail millet. This name is derived from the resem- 
blance of the head to the cat-tail flag which grows in swamps. 
It is also known as Pearl millet and as Pencilaria. It grows 
six or more feet tall, and looks much like sorghum until 
it heads out. The stems are not so coarse as sorghum, but 



FORAGE CROPS 115 

much more so than any of the millets. This millet stands dry 
weather well and grows rapidly after it once gets a start. It 
is better to sow this millet in rows and cultivate it. It takes 
about one or two pounds of seed per acre, if it is drilled in 
rows three feet apart. This millet is not very valuable as a 
hay plant. 

Teosinte. — Teosinte is a forage plant looking much like 
corn. It is adapted only to southern states, as it requires a 
long season in which to grow. 

Indian Corn. — Sometimes corn is sown broadcast with a 
drill, or quite thick in rows two or three feet apart. Being so 
thick very little grain is formed. When cut and dried, corn 
handled in this way is called fodder corn. It is really corn 
hay. When corn is planted in the usual way and cut and 
shocked it is called fodder. When the ears have been shucked 
out, the stalks remaining are called stover. Fodder and stover 
are very common forms of forage in the corn belt. 

Silage. — Many crops have been used for silage, but there 
is only one satisfactory crop. This crop is Indian corn. 
For silage, corn is planted in the usual way and given the 
same cultivation as when grown for grain and stover. W^hen 
some of the lower leaves have begun to turn yellow and the 
husks on a few of the ears are getting ripe the corn is ready 
to put into the silo. 

The silo is really a big barrel set on end and without a head 
in either end. It is made out of staves of wood held together 
with iron rods for hoops. The bottom is usually set on a con- 
crete foundation. Some silos are covered with a roof, others 
are not. A roof is desirable to keep out rain and snow. A 
silo is usually from twenty to thirty-five feet high and ten to 
twenty feet in diameter. There are doors in the sides for 



116 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



getting out the silage. A silo should be taller than its diameter, 
so that when filled the weight of the silage will keep it tightly 
packed. Almost all silos are circular in shape. Most silos 
are made out of timber, although many are now being made 




24. FILLING A SILO 

This is one of the best methods of preserving the corn crop 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 

of brick and some of concrete. A silo should be air-tight 
around the sides, else the silage will spoil wherever the air 
strikes it. 

In putting up silage, the corn is cut in the field by hand or 
with a binder, loaded on wagons, and hauled to the silo. 
Here it is run through a cutting machine, which cuts it into 
short lengths of one or two inches. This cut corn is blown 
into the top of the silo with a blower and falls in showers to 
the bottom. Two or three men work in the silo, spreading 



FORAGE CROPS 117 

and tramping the corn as it comes in. Silage should be 
tightly pressed down against the sides of the silo and well 
packed through the centre. When full the top can be cov- 
ered with rotten straw to keep out the air, or it can be left 
exposed. A few inches of the top will spoil, but the rest will 
come out in the winter when it is fed as green and sweet as 
when it was put in in the fall. 

Silage is a particularly good feed for milch cows, and dairy- 
men use it a great deal. It is usually fed during the winter 
and spring months, when there is little other green material. 
Silage weighs forty pounds to the cubic foot. An acre of good 
corn will make about ten or twelve tons of silage. 

Other plants like cow-peas, soy-beans, clover, sorghum, peas 
and oats, and millets have been used for silage, but they have 
not given as good results as Indian corn. The legumes do 
fairly well when mixed with corn. They usually ferment too 
much and produce undesirable acids in the silage. 

Soiling. — Soiling crops are largely used by dairymen, and 
stockmen who are preparing animals for shows and agricul- 
tural fairs. A good soiling crop must be succulent, that is, 
full of juice, grow quickly, give a large yield, and suit the 
taste of the animals. 

Sorghum is one of the best crops for soiling. The ground 
is prepared as for corn and the sorghum seed sown in rows 
about thirty inches apart. It takes about a half bushel of 
seed for an acre. The sorghum is cultivated like corn and 
grows rapidly after it gets a start. When it begins to head 
out it is ready to use. As much as is needed is cut and hauled 
to the animals each day. A good field of sorghum will give 
ten or twelve tons of green weight per acre. 

Kafir corn takes the place of sorghum, and to some extent 



118 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



corn also, in the semi-arid regions. It is grown quite exten- 
sively in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The stalk is used 
for stover and the ripe grain for feeding animals. The green 




25. SORGHUM FOR GREEN FEED 

This field made eleven tons per acre of green feed 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 

plant may be used for soiling, but it is not so sweet as sorghum. 
Milo, durra, and Jerusalem corn are similar to kafir corn. 

Canada Field Peas and Oats sown together is a favorite 
soiling crop. These are sown as early in spring as possible. 
The peas are usually sown broadcast on top of the ground, 
at the rate of one and a half bushels per acre. The ground is 
then plowed about three or four inches deep and harrowed 
down. The oats are then sown on top either with a drill, or 
broadcasted and harrowed in. The ground can also be first 



FORAGE CROPS 119 

prepared and the peas and oats then sown separately. This 
crop is ready to use in about sixty days from the time of sow- 
ing. When the oats are headed and the peas are in blossom, 
the crop is ready to cut. This mixture also makes excellent 
hay when dried, especially for cows and sheep. 

Indian corn is also a good soiling crop. If the farmer is 
short of pasture he can use his green corn to good advantage 
by feeding some each day to his milch cows. Sweet corn is 
often raised for soiling purposes. It grows quickly and the 
stalks are sweeter than other corn. Cow-peas and soy-beans 
may also be used for soiling purposes, especially the cow-peas. 

Pastures. — Most farmers depend upon pastures for all of 
their green feed. Native grasses, like blue grass and the wild 
grasses of the woodlands, furnish most of the pasturage. 
Other grasses, like orchard grass, tall oat grass, smooth 
brome grass, and Italian rye grass also make good pastures, 
and farmers would do well to cultivate these grasses. Two 
or more kinds of grasses are usually sown together for pasture. 
When this is done the ground is better covered, and one kind is 
likely to grow better at one time of the year than the other, so 
that more pasture is obtained. In making up a mixture of 
seeds for a pasture, the clovers should never be left out, espe- 
cially the alsike and white clover. The white clover never 
grows big enough to make hay, but always holds its place in 
pastures. 

Rape is a plant that is being grown more every year for 
sheep and hog pasture. The Dwarf Essex is the variety most 
commonly grown. Rape will grow on any land that will pro- 
duce good corn. The soil is prepared the same as for corn, ex- 
cept that the seed-bed must be finer. Rape is sown from 
early spring to mid-summer. Where small areas are sown, the 



120 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

seed is sown with a hand drill, in rows about two feet apart. 
Large fields are always sown broadcast. It takes about two 
pounds of seed to sow an acre when sowed in rows and about 
three or four pounds when sown broadcast. When the rape 
is twelve inches or more tall, pasturing may begin. Sheep and 
cattle should have some dry feed before they are turned on 
the rape, else they will eat too greedily and become bloated, 
which may cause death. Hogs do not bloat, but they should 
not be turned on when the rape is wet with dew, for the dew 
irritates and chafes the skin, causing sores. If the rape is not 
eaten down too close to the ground it will grow up again. It 
is a good plan to pasture part of the field at a time and let the 
other grow up again after being eaten off. 

Rape is often sown with oats in the spring. The rape 
plants do not grow much until the oats are cut, then they begin 
to grow and furnish pasture for the late summer and autumn. 
Many farmers also sow rape in the corn at the time of last 
cultivation. Rape grown this way can be pastured off in the 
autumn with sheep or hogs. 

Miscellaneous Forage Crops. — Cabbage and pumpkins 
are sometimes grown for forage. They are not such good 
forage as the crops that have been mentioned and are not 
grown extensively. The crushed canes from mills where 
sorghum is ground for syrup are frequently fed to live stock. 
These crushed canes are known as bagasse. Sugar beet pulp 
from beet sugar factories is also much used for feeding ani- 
mals, especially cattle and sheep. 



CHAPTER XIV 
OTHER FARM CROPS 

Tobacco. — This crop has been grown in America since the 
days of Jamestown. Tobacco is an American plant. The 
principal varieties have come from South America, but there 
is a species which is found wild in Connecticut, New York, 
and a few other states. 

There are many varieties of tobacco, but all are not used 
for the same purpose. Some varieties are used for cigar wrap- 
pers and binders, others for the filling of cigars, others to 
make chewing tobacco, still others to make smoking or pipe 
tobacco, and finally some are raised mainly to export. 

Tobacco is very greatly influenced by the soil and climate 
in which it grows. The odor and flavor of the tobacco, as 
well as the quality of the leaves, are very sensitive to soil and 
climatic changes. The soils adapted to tobacco growing 
range from clay loams, loams, and sandy loams to light sandy 
soils. One who is going to raise tobacco must make a careful 
study of the subject before he can expect to succeed in any 
large degree. 

The young tobacco plants are started in seed-beds, and after 
they are of sufficient size they are set out in the fields. The 
soil in the fields must be thoroughly prepared and well fer- 
tilized. Both commercial fertilizers and stable manure are 

121 



122 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

desirable. The cultivation requires the keeping down of the 
wee'ds and a loose mulch of soil on the surface until the plants 
are too large to cultivate. 

When the plants have grown to considerable size they begin 
to send out blossom buds. These must be removed from all 
plants except those that are to produce seed for the next crop. 
When the leaves are ripe the plants are cut and taken to sheds 
and arranged on racks to cure. At what stage of growth the 
leaves are ripe is hard to tell in words. It must be learned 
by experience. After the curing process is done the dried 
leaves are handled in various ways to prepare them for the 
market. The method of handling depends upon the use to 
which the leaves are to be put. 

Broom Corn. — Broom corn is closely related to sorghum 
and looks very much like it. The branches of the heads are 
longer and usually lighter colored. The stems of broom corn 
are not sweet like those of sorghum. The head or "brush" 
is the valuable part of the plant. 

Broom corn is raised in nearly every state and territory of 
the Union, but the total amount produced is not large. Illi- 
nois, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas, Iowa, 
California and Tennessee are the states producing the larg- 
est amounts. Three counties in Illinois (Coles, Douglas and 
Moultrie) produce about one-half of the total crop in the 
United States.* 

There are two kinds of broom corn, the standard and the 
dwarf. The standard grows quite tall, as much as twelve 
feet, and has a brush fifteen or more inches long. The dwarf 
varieties grow about six feet tall and have brushes about 
twelve inches or more long. The standard varieties are used 
* Farmers' Bulletin 174. 



OTHER FARM CROPS 123 

for making long brooms, like carpet brooms, while the dwarf 
varieties are used for whisk brooms and the like. 

Any soil that will produce good corn will raise broom corn. 
The land should be prepared as for corn, but broom corn is 
not planted so early, for the soil needs to be warmer. The 
seed is sown in rows about three feet apart, and the plants 
should stand about three or four inches apart in the row. 
The sowing is done with special plates in a corn planter or 
with the wheat drill, the holes not needed being stopped up. 
It takes about two or three quarts of seed per acre. Cultiva- 
tion should be given the same as for corn. If the plants are 
too thick in the row they should be thinned before getting 
very large. 

Broom corn is harvested just as the bloom is falling. The 
brush gets stiff and brittle if allowed to ripen. For dwarf 
broom corn the heads are pulled by hand, but the standard 
has to be "tabled," that is, two rows are broken across each 
other about three feet from the ground. The heads are then 
cut off and laid on the broken down stems. The stem left on 
the brush should be about five or six inches long. As soon as 
cut or pulled the heads are taken to the drying sheds. Here 
the seed is removed either by scraping by hand with a curry- 
comb or by a machine. After the seed is removed the brush 
is cured. This should be done quickly and without sunshine 
falling on the brush. It is then baled for market. A good 
yield of dwarf broom corn is 400 pounds of brush to the acre, 
and of the standard 600 to 700 pounds. The price runs from 
about three to four cents per pound. A ton of broom corn will 
make about 100 dozen brooms of ordinary size. 

Flax. — Flax is a fibre crop as well as a seed crop. By fhre 
crop is meant one which furnishes material for making 



124 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

threads, ropes and cloth. Flax is a very old crop, having been 
cultivated in early times in Egypt. It is grown throughout the 
world in temperate climates. Russia is the largest flax-pro- 
ducing country in the world. It produces both seed and fibre. 
The United States comes next as a seed producer, but not in 
fibre productions. North Dakota, Minnesota and South 
Dakota are the largest producers in the United States. 

A moist, deep loam soil well drained is best for flax. Land 
good for corn is also good for flax. The seed-bed should be 
made quite fine, so that the young plants can get their food 
quickly. The seed is sown in May. If the farmer wants to get 
a large crop of seed he sows about two or three pecks of seed 
per acre; if he wants to get plants good for fibre he sows about 
one and a half to two bushels. For fibre the stems should 
be slender and not branched, so they need to stand thickly 
in the field. The seeding is done by hand or with the drill. 

If the crop is raised for the seed it can be cut with a binder 
when the seeds are well matured, but when grown for fibre 
the plants are usually pulled by hand, or cut very low with 
the machine. The harvesting for fibre begins when the straw 
begins to turn yellow. The pulled stems are stood up in small 
shocks to cure and the heads are pulled off with coarse 
combs, or a "header." 

The farmer usually does not do more than "head" the flax. 
He then sells it to the dealer who rets it. Retting is done by 
exposing the straw to the sun, dew, and rain for several days 
until it begins to rot, when the outside skin comes off and the 
long fibres or threads under the skin can be easily separated. 
These fibres are made up into linen goods of various kinds. 
The retting may also be done by immersing in tanks of warm 
water for a few days. 



OTHER FARM CROPS 125 

Flax raised for seed makes about ten to fifteen bushels per 
acre. The seed is used mostly for making linseed oil. The 
seed is ground and the oil removed by pressing with heavy 
presses. This oil is used for paints, linoleum, oil cloth and 
many other things. The pressed cake is ground up and used 
to feed cattle and is called oil-cake or linseed meal. 

Hemp. — ^Hemp is another fibre crop. The fibre in the 
plant is found just under the skin of the stem as in flax. 
The fibre is obtained by retting just as in case of flax. The 
fibre is used mostly for making ropes and coarse cloth. 
Hemp is raised extensively in many parts of the Old World. 
Kentucky produces three-fourths of all the hemp raised in 
the United States. A good hemp soil must be deep, loose and 
well drained. The left-over fertility from crops previously 
well-manured is better than fresh fertilizer. 

The seed is sown with a drill about the same time that 
oats are sown. About one bushel of seed to the acre is used. 
It is desirable to get an even stand of plants so that they will 
all grow up uniformly. The plants are harvested at from 
eighty to one hundred and forty days after sowing. After 
cutting they are allowed to dry a few days, then bound or 
raked into bundles and stacked. Hemp will keep in stacks 
for two or three years. 

Cotton. — Probably the most important fibre plant is cot- 
ton. The fibre from the plant consists of the long, fine fibres 
attached to the seeds and from which so many different useful 
articles are made. Three-fourths of the world's supply of 
cotton is raised in twelve states of the United States. Cotton 
is the chief farm crop in ten of our southern states. One-half 
of the value of our agricultural exports is made up of cotton. 
To raise it successfully requires a long growing season, 



126 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

a high temperature, a well-distributed rainfall during the 
growing season, and little rain at the ripening period. These 
desirable conditions are found in the cotton-belt states to a 
greater extent than in any other part of the world. 

Cotton is a very old plant and was grown in the Old World 
at least five centuries before the time of Christ. Pizarro 
found the mummies of Peru wrapped in cotton fabrics, and 
Cortez found the natives of Mexico cultivating the cotton plant. 

Cotton belongs to the same family of plants as the holly- 
hocks and the mallows. It is a strong bushy plant and grows 
from two to four feet tall. It grows from the seed every year, 
hence it is an annual. The flowers are white, pale yellow, or 
cream-colored. They become darker and redder each day 
until they fall off on the third or fourth day. A litde boll is left 
where the flower was. This develops slowly until mature, 
when it bursts open and exposes the seeds to which the white 
fibres are attached. The fibres are called lint, and when 
separated from the seeds they become the cotton of commerce. 

There are four kinds of cotton, namely: Sea Island cotton, 
Upland cotton. Tree cotton, and Indian cotton. 1. The Sea 
Island cotton is grown along the coasts of South Carolina, 
Georgia, Florida, and the islands lying near by. The fibres or 
staple of this cotton are quite long and sell for the highest 
price. 2. Upland cotton is of two kinds, smooth and hairy. 
Both of these can be grown on the uplands, but the hairy is 
the principal one grown in the United States. The smooth 
has long staple and the hairy has short. 3. Tree cotton grows 
in India and lives five or six years, growing as tall as twenty 
feet. It has short, fine fibres and is not much grown. 4. 
Indian or Bush cotton is also raised mainly in India. It has 
small pods and few seeds. 



OTHER FARM CROPS . 127 

The list of varieties of cotton is almost endless. Bulletin 
140 of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station names 
and describes over two hundred varieties as being grown in 
the United States. The cotton plant is greatly influenced by 
the surroundings of climate and soil, and in this way many 
varieties arise. 

Cotton can be grown on all kinds of soil, but not with equal 
success. Good tillage is more important in cotton growing 
than the kind of soil. Land for cotton should be deeply 
plowed and well fertilized with commercial fertilizers and 
with leguminous crops. Stable manure should also be used. 
A good system of rotation should be used, and the rotation 
should contain one or more leguminous crops. The cotton 
lands of the South have been carelessly farmed, as a rule, 
and much of the land has decreased in yielding power. After 
the land is plowed it is harrowed several times to kill the 
weeds before planting. The seeds are planted in rows which 
are about four feet apart and in the row they are dropped so 
that the plants may stand about twenty inches from each 
other. The ground must be quite warm before the seeds are 
planted, for the young plants do not grow well in cool soil. 
As soon as the plants are large enough cultivation begins, and 
the aim should be to kill weeds and keep the surface mulched. 
Shallow cultivation is considered best and is kept up as long 
as necessary. 

Cotton is harvested by picking the seed cotton from the 
open bolls by hand. By seed cotton is meant the seeds and the 
lint attached. A sack is carried by the picker and into it he 
throws the seed cotton. Pickers can gather from one hun- 
dred to three hundred and fifty pounds per day, one-third 
of which is lint. The fields have to be gone over several 



128 . AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

times, for all the bolls do not ripen at the same time. The 
picking season lasts about ninety to one hundred days. 

After picking, the seed cotton is taken to the cotton-gin, 
which is a machine for separating the lint from the seed. It 
consists of a number of circular saws fastened on a wooden 
cylinder about three-fourths of an inch apart. These revolve 
in slits less than a quarter of an inch wide, cut in a steel plate. 
A mass of seed cotton is laid on the plate and as the saws re- 
volve the teeth catch the lint and pull it off the seeds. Under 
the plate the lint is brushed off the teeth by a revolving brush. 
By means of a fan the lint is blown through a flue into the lint 
room where it is baled for market. 

The seeds are used for making many different products, the 
main ones being cottoni-seed meal and cotton-seed oil. From 
the crude oil are made soaps, salad oils, cottolene, and vari- 
ous other articles. 



CHAPTER XV 
SEED SELECTION 

It is important that the farmer plant good seed, for the 
seed is the foundation of the new crop. Poor seed may not 
grow at all, or if it does grow, it may give such a poor stand 
of plants that the crop will not be a paying one. Again, poor 
seed may bring in many weed seeds, and on most farms there 
are already too many weeds. Also more seed is required to 
plant an acre if the seed is not good. This makes an extra 
expense. 

Purity. — In choosing seed it is important that it be free 
from weed seeds, chaff, sticks and dirt. Some farm crop 
seeds look very much like some other seeds which are not 
useful, so that it is easy for dishonest seedsmen to put into the 
good seed some of these less valuable seeds and sell the mix- 
ture to the farmer without the farmer's knowing it. The 
seeds of yellow trefoil and bur clover look very much like 
alfalfa seeds, and they are often found in samples of alfalfa 
seed. The yellow trefoil can also be easily mixed with clover 
seed. A weed seed known as buckhorn is very often found in 
clover and alfalfa seeds. Small seeds like the clovers and 
grasses usually contain more weed seeds and mixtures than 
large seeds, because they are more difficult to get clean in 
threshing and also because the farmer does not know their 

129 



130 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

shape and appearance so well as he does large seeds like 
wheat and oats. 

Genuineness. — By genuineness is meant trueness to name. 
When a farmer buys a certain variety of grain he wants to be 
sure that he is getting the true variety. The seeds of different 
varieties of the same grain usually look much alike. For 
example, one cannot often tell by looking at the grain what 
variety a sample of wheat or oats is. It very often happens 
that two varieties get more or less mixed in the threshing, so 
that the resulting crop from such seed will be still more 
mixed. Two corn varieties will mix when the pollen from 
one blows on the other. Sometimes the mixed seed is not 
objectionable, but it is if the farmer wishes to sell his seed for 
pure varieties. 

Vitality. — By vitality we mean whether or not the seed 
will grow. The vitality of seed is affected most by its age. 
It is not safe to plant seeds of our garden crops after they are 
more than one year old. Most field crop seeds, like corn, 
wheat, oats, and clover, are good for two years and even 
longer if they have been carefully stored. 

Seed which has been harvested before it is fully ripe is not 
so good as fully ripe seed. It will germinate more quickly, 
but the young plants will not be so strong as those from well- 
ripened seed. 

Grain intended for seed should be kept in dry, cool places. 
It should not be exposed to wide ranges of temperature, or 
be kept where it is damp at one time and dry at another, as 
often happens where corn is stored in rail pens or poorly pro- 
tected cribs. Corn well dried out will stand a temperature 
of as much as fifteen degrees below zero before the germ will 
be injured. 



SEED SELECTION 131 

In selecting seed one should give attention to its weight, 
plumpness, and lustre. Heavy seed is best, because it has 
more material packed in it for the young plant than a light 
seed. Shrivelled and light seeds should not be used if better 
can be had. They will probably grow all right, but the plants 
from them are not likely to be so thrifty. The importance of 
using the fanning-mill to get the heavy and plump seed can 
easily be seen. By lustre is meant the appearance of the 
seed, whether it is fresh or dull looking. New seed always 
has a fresh, shiny appearance, while old seed has lost its 
freshness. If one compares clover seed three years old with 
fresh seed the meaning of lustre and its importance are easily 
understood. 

Home-grown Seed. — Crops which have been grown in the 
same neighborhood for several years have become used to the 
climate and soil and their seed, if carefully selected, will usually 
give larger crops than seed brought from a distance. Corn is 
a crop that cannot be changed very far without bad results. 
Sometimes if corn is taken but a few miles and planted on 
different soil it will not give a good crop. Most farm crops 
do not *'run out," as the farmers say, but potatoes and oats, 
if not carefully selected, do seem to lose in quality and yielding 
power, in the warmer climates, and new seed from northern 
places will give a larger crop. If new seed is to be obtained 
it should be obtained from some northern point, or from a 
point east or west. It will not do as a rule to bring seed from 
the south to the north, because it is used to a longer season of 
growth and will not ripen at the right time. 

Testing Seed. — After what has been said above it seems 
clear that the farmer should use great care in selecting his seed 
for a new crop. Small seeds like clover and timothy should 



132 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

be examined for weed seeds and mixtures. Then a number 
of seeds should be put to germinate on a plate between blot- 
ting papers or folds of cloth with another plate covering the 
top. They should be kept moist and in a temperature of 
about 70° F. In four days it can be told what seeds will grow. 
The same plan can be used for wheat and oats, but for corn 
a larger tester, like that on page 76, should be used. For 
a method of testing corn see page 76. 

The Seed Plat. — By the seed plat is meant a small piece of 
ground on which the farmer plants extra good seed to get seed 
for his next year's crop. This is used mostly for seed corn, 
but should be used for all the farm crops. Many farmers now 
select choice ears of corn and plant them on a separate 
plat of ground to which extra care is given. The seed corn 
for the next crop is then picked from this plat. Such seed 
gives better yields than seed selected from the general crop. 
Wheat and oats would produce better if farmers were to sow 
a half acre or more with choice seed each year and use the 
resulting crop for sowing the next main crop. 



CHAPTER XVI 
ROTATIONS 

If a farmer raises corn in a certain field one year, and the 
next year sows the same field in oats, sowing clover 
with the oats, so that the third year he has clover in the same 
field, and then in the fourth year he plants the field in corn 
again and follows it again with the oats and clover, he is rais- 
ing crops in rotation. A rotation, then, is raising two or more 
crops in such a way that they follow each other in a definite 
order. If two crops alternate with each other on the same 
field, a two-course rotation is said to be followed. When three 
crops are used it is a three-course rotation, and so on. When 
a rotation is followed out completely, the farmer has as many 
fields as he has crops in his rotation, or some multiple of the 
number. 

The farmer raises crops in rotation in order to get the 
largest returns from his land. Larger total returns will be 
obtained from a piece of land when it is rotated in corn, wheat 
and clover, for example, than if corn or wheat is grown every 
year on the same piece of ground. 

A properly selected rotation enables the farmer to keep up 
the fertility of his land. It does this in several ways. In the 
first place, while all crops use the same kinds of plant food 
they do not use them in the same amounts. Corn uses nitro- 
gen, phosphoric acid, and potash, but it does not use so much 

133 



134 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

phosphoric acid as wheat, and uses more potash. A rotation 
then keeps the plant food in the soil in balance. 

Secondly, plants have different root systems, and so draw 
their food from the soil differently. Oats and wheat have 
shallow root systems and get most of their food near the sur- 
face. Corn has a large root system and draws from the soil 
near the surface as well as rather deep down in the soil. 
Clover and alfalfa have long tap roots and get their food 
mostly from the deeper layers of soil. By using plants having 
such differences in their root systems a larger volume of soil 
is made to furnish food for plants. 

Thirdly, a proper rotation always has a legume crop in it. 
As we have already learned, the legumes leave in the soil 
more nitrogen than they take out, that is, they gather nitro- 
gen. All other crops, however, use up nitrogen and do not 
gather any. So it can be seen that, with a proper rotation, 
the nitrogen supply in the soil can be kept up. 

In the fourth place, a rotation enables the farmer to hold in 
check to some degree injurious insects, troublesome weeds, 
and some plant diseases. Few of these pests can be com- 
pletely controlled by rotation systems, but nearly all can be 
made less harmful. For example, the corn root louse is not 
often troublesome where a rotation is used ; the weed known 
as ragweed is held in check; and a disease of potatoes known 
as potato scab is rarely injurious where potatoes are raised 
on different fields each year. 

Besides all the above advantages the rotation method en- 
ables the farmer to raise live stock and feed his crops at 
home. This gives larger quantities of manure for the land, 
and consequently lessens the need for commercial fertilizers. 
Furthermore, the rotation system gives work throughout 



ROTATIONS 135 

more of the year than if only one kind of crop were raised. 
This keeps the farmer employed all the time, and if he has to 
keep hired help he can engage it by the year, which is better 
than hiring it by the day. 

Notable Rotations. — One of the oldest and most noted 
systems of rotations is the Norfolk rotation. This was devel- 
oped in Norfolk County, England, and has been used there 
for many years. It is a four-course rotation consisting of tur- 
nips, barley, clover, and wheat in the order named. If we 
study this rotation we shall see that it is helpful in the ways 
mentioned above. It contains a leguminous crop, the clover; 
it has deep feeding crops, the clover and turnips; it has shallow 
feeding crops, the barley and wheat; and none of these crops 
is troubled by the same kind of insects, plant diseases, or 
weeds as the others. 

Another noted rotation is the Terry rotation. It was used 
by Mr. T. B. Terry, in Ohio, for building up a run-down clay 
farm. It consists of clover, potatoes, and wheat. In this 
rotation we have clover as the legume and deep feeding crop, 
potatoes, which also feed through a large volume of soil, and 
wheat, which is a shallow feeder. 

In the corn-belt states corn, oats or wheat, and clover is a 
common rotation. In many cases the rotation is corn, oats, 
wheat, and clover, and sometimes timothy is sown with the 
clover, and the land is kept in clover and grass for two or 
more years. 

Now, a rotation to be a proper one must be suited to the 
climate and soil of the region in which it is to be used. It 
must also be suited to the labor and market conditions. In 
very few cases could the farmers in the United States use the 
Norfolk rotation, for the turnips would have to be planted in 



136 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

rows and cultivated largely by hand, and we could not get 
laborers enough to manage so many as twenty or twenty-five 
acres of turnips, nor could we dispose of the turnips after 
they were raised. There would be no market for them and 
few farmers would have enough live stock to eat them. The 
Terry rotation is better. While it would require considerable 
labor to handle twenty acres of potatoes, yet such a thing is 
possible, and the clover and wheat can be easily handled. 
All of these products would find a good market. The corn- 
belt rotation is most popular, because the crops in it are easily 
raised, find a ready market, and are well adapted to a wide 
range of soils. A rotation of cotton, wheat, and clover would 
not be profitable to farmers in the corn belt states, for the 
climate is not right, and they could hardly get enough laborers 
to pick the cotton. There are many kinds of rotations used, 
but enough has been said to show what things need to be 
taken into account in the choosing of a rotation. 



SECTION III.— HORTICULTURE 

CHAPTER XVII 
I. POMOLOGY 

Before going further we need to know the difference 
between horticulture and agriculture. Professor Bailey says 
that ''agriculture in its largest meaning is the raising of 
products from the land," However, *' agriculture is usually 
limited to the growing of grain, forage, bread-stuffs, textiles, 
and the like, and to the raising of animals. Horticulture is 
the growing of flowers, fruits and vegetables, and of plants 
for ornament or fancy." We see from these definitions that 
what we have been saying about soils and crops and what 
we shall say about animals and dairying is to be considered 
under agriculture, while what we are now to say about fruits, 
vegetables, and flowers refers to horticulture. 

Horticulture is of two kinds : that which is concerned with 
growing such fruits, vegetables, flowers and shrubs as almost 
every farmer will want on his farm and that which is con- 
cerned with the growing of certain kinds of fruits, etc., on a 
large scale, that is, for market purposes. Professor Bailey 
divides horticulture into four main divisions: * 1. Pomology, 
which means the growing of fruits. 2. Olericulture, the 
growing of vegetables. 3. Floriculture, the raising of orna- 
mental plants for their individual uses or products. 4. Land- 

* Cyclopedia of Horticulture, topic Horticulture. 
137 



138 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

scape Horticulture, or the growing of plants for their use in 
the landscape. These terms will be explained more fully as 
each is taken up. For our purpose the last two will be con- 
sidered under one head, that of landscape gardening. 

Pomology is the term used to cover the growing of all 
kinds of fruit. Now fruits may be classed as tree fruits, 
like apples and cherries; vine fruits, like grapes; and small 
fruits, like raspberries and strawberries. Instead of the term 
pomology we shall use the more common name — fruit- 
growing. We shall first speak in a general way of the loca- 
tion of orchards and fruit gardens. 

The orchard and fruit garden should be planted on sloping 
land whenever possible. A hillside with a stream along its 
foot is a very desirable place to plant fruits. A hillside is a 
good place because it allows air-drainage. By air-drain- 
age we mean that air will have a tendency to settle to the 
lower ground and move off down the valley. It is a known 
fact that it gets colder in the valleys and low places than it 
does on the hillsides. Frosts and fogs occur in the valley 
before they do on the hilltops. So trees and bushes planted 
on a hillside are less likely to be injured by frosts and the cold 
of winter than if they were planted in the low places. It 
takes only a few feet of a rise in the land to make a good 
deal of difference in the temperature. Furthermore, it is not 
desirable to have the orchard surrounded by a thick growth 
of forest trees, as it hinders the movement of the air. 

The direction in which the land slopes is an important 
item. A north or north-west slope is good for apples, pears, 
plums, and cherries, but not for peaches and grapes. How- 
ever, fruits with the most brilliant colors are raised on south- 
ern slopes. While it is not necessary to have wind-breaks to 



POMOLOGY 139 

protect against the cold, it has been found that a wind-break 
on the windy and sunny side is helpful in preventing the 
blowing off of the fruit and in protecting against hot winds. 
The air on a northern slope is cooler than that on the southern 
slope. This is desirable in spring because the buds and blos- 
soms will not start so soon and will thus probably escape the 
frosts that usually follow a warm spell. Some people cover 
the ground around their trees with straw or manure when 
the ground is frozen, so that it will not thaw out quickly in 
spring and the blossoms thus be held back. Such covering 
does no good, for the starting of the buds is influenced by the 
temperature of the air. If the end of a grape-vine or peach- 
limb be pulled into a warm room through a hole in the win- 
dow, it will put out buds in a short time, although the roots of 
the vine or tree are frozen solid in the ground. 

Fruits can be grown on almost any kind of soil. There is 
little excuse for a farmer to be without fruit because his soil 
is not right. Of course each kind of fruit does like a ceutain 
kind of soil better than another. We shall speak of these as 
we take up the individual fruits. In general all fruits and 
ornamental trees and shrubs do best on a good soil having a 
porous subsoil, that is, one that permits the surplus water to 
drain away and allows the roots to grow downward easily. 
Such a soil does not get so dry in dry weather nor so wet 
in wet weather as one having a compact subsoil. If one" is 
raising fruit in a large way for market, he should select land 
which is naturally well adapted, but drainage, irrigation, or 
fertilization, as the case may require, will usually give ade- 
quate returns. 



CHAPTER XVIII • 
' PROPAGATION OF THE FRUITS 

The number of plants of any of the fruits can be increased 
in one or more of four different ways, namely, from seeds, 
by layering, by cuttings, and by grafting. 

Planting the seeds of a desirable variety in order to get 
more of that variety is not very satisfactory, because usually 
the new trees or bushes will not bear the same kind of fruit 
as the one from which the seed came. For example, if we 
were to plant the seeds from a Baldwin apple the young trees 
from those seeds would not bear Baldwin apples, because the 
blossom which produced the Baldwin apple was probably fer- 
tilized with pollen from the blossoms of a different kind of 
apple. The seeds in the new apple will produce trees which 
will have some of the qualities of both kinds of apples. When 
one smells a dandelion blossom he gets some yellow dust in 
his nose; this is follen. When pollen is carried from one 
flower to another the second flower is said to be fertilized by 
the first. The bees and the wind are active agents in carrying 
pollen. The seeds from plums, grapes, gooseberries, straw- 
berries, and all other fruits act in the same way as those from 
apples. 

Layering is a common method of getting new plants of 
black-cap raspberries, dewberries, and strawberries. In lay- 
ering the plants are covered with soil at the ends or at the 

140 



PROPAGATION OF THE FRUITS 141 

joints. New canes come up from around the base of the old 
plants of raspberries and dewberries and grow quite rapidly. 
They soon bend over and the tips after a while touch the 
ground. These tips often take root of their own accord, but 
they can be helped by having a shovelful of dirt thrown on 
them. In fall or the following spring, the new plants can be cut 
loose from the parent stems. Strawberries send out runners, 
which take root without any help and thus make many new 
plants. Grapes can also be increased by layering. Vines 
of the previous year's growth are best. They are laid down 
in the spring and covered three or four inches deep. New 
plants start from almost every bud. In the fall these layers 
should be lifted and the new plants cut loose from each other. 
A cutting is a part of the parent plant cut off and stuck in 
the moist ground, where it takes root and produces a new 
plant. For fruits two kinds of cuttings are used — roots and 
stems. Cuttings are used mainly for blackberries, grapes, 
currants, and gooseberries. The roots of blackberries are 
used — roots a quarter-inch or more in diameter. They are 
dug up in the autumn, cut into pieces a couple of inches long, 
and stored in dry sand in the cellar until spring. When 
the ground is warm these cuttings are planted two or three 
inches deep in good soil. They soon begin to grow and make 
good plants. For grapes, currants, and gooseberries the new 
growth of stem is cut in the autumn and stored in dry sand 
the same as blackberry roots, or they may be planted at once 
in the fall. When stored in sand the cut end callouses, or 
heals, over, and this is probably better than to plant the 
fresh cutting. Early in spring the cuttings are stuck or 
planted in the ground. They are usually eight or ten inches 
long, but may be shorter. Every cutting must have at 



142 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

least two buds on it. One is covered up in the ground to 
make roots, the other is left exposed to grow into a new stem. 
Where plants are raised in large numbers, cuttings of all 
kinds are usually started into growth in hot-house beds. 

By grafting is meant the taking of a part of a plant and 
fastening it on another plant in such a way that the two be- 
come firmly united by growth. The part which is taken is 
called the scion (sometimes it is just a bud) and the part or 
plant to which it is grafted is called the stock. The tree fruits 
are the ones usually grafted. Nearly all the fruit trees bought 
from the nurseries have been grafted. The nurseryman sows 
the seeds of trees, and when the young trees, called seedlings, 
are large enough the variety which he wants to increase is 
grafted on the roots. A fruit is not always grafted on the 
same kind of stock. For example, pears may be grafted on 
quinces, apples on crab-apples, peaches on plums. Very 
often, however, a variety is grafted on another variety of the 
same kind, but one which is hardier and less useful. This 
is usually done with peaches, plums, and cherries. 

There are many ways of grafting. They can be classified 
in three groups: budding, scion-grafting, and in-arching. 
Budding is very extensively used for peaches and cherries. 
In budding two slits are made on the stock through the bark 
to the wood with a sharp knife and the bark loosened a little 
next the slits. One of the slits is made up and down and the 
other crosswise. A bud cut from a branch of the desired 
variety is slipped into the slits and the bark bound down to 
the bud by wrapping with a narrow piece of muslin; nursery- 
men use raffia. In cutting the bud just a small amount of 
the surrounding bark is left attached and the cut is made 
deep enough to take a very little of the wood just under the 





26. METHODS OF GRAFTING 
'■ ^Ttcin'^^B. Cleft. C and D Scion in place and waxed 
2. Budding R cut in stock C. Bud in place and tied 
, Whip o"r splice- grafting 5. gcion and stock with tongues 



144 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

bud. Budding is usually done during the growing season, 
either summer or fall, but it is sometimes done in the spring. 
It is always done on young trees. The next spring after 
budding, the part of the stock above the bud is cut away. 

In scion-grafting a scion, or twig, containing one or more 
buds is fastened to the stock in such a way that the green- 
colored tissue under the bark of each comes in contact on 
at least one side. The scions are cut from the previous 
season's growth in the fall or winter, or even in the spring 
before growth starts. These scions are kept in sand or moss 
in a cool place until wanted. When the stock used is a root, 
the process is called r.oot-grafting; when the graft is made 
just at the surface of the ground it is called crown-grafting; 
when on the trunk just below the limbs, stem-grafting; and 
when on the branches, top-grafting. 

There are two principal ways of grafting with scions : whip- 
grafting and cleft-grafting. In the first the stock and the scion 
are each cut to a long one-sided wedge shape. A tongue is 
cut in each wedge by splitting slightly with the knife. The 
two cut surfaces are brought together and the tongues slipped 
into each other. The green wood of the two must come 
together on at least one side. The scion and the graft are 
now wrapped tightly with waxed cord. This method is used 
almost entirely in root and crown-grafting and also in stem- 
grafting when the stem is small. Sometimes the scion and 
the stock are cut in the wedge shape and brought together 
without cutting the tongues. Such a connection is called a 
splice-graft. If the whip or splice-graft stands outside the 
ground, it must be covered with wax. (See cleft-grafting.) 

The second method, or cleft-grafting, is used with large 
stems and branches. The stem or branch is sawed off 



PROPAGATION OF THE FRUITS 145 

straight and then split sHghtly with a knife or thin-bladed 
instrument (nurserymen have special tools). The scion is 
cut to a two-sided wedge shape and pushed into the split in 
the stock. The scion is always much smaller than the stock 
and care must be taken that the green bark of one comes in 
contact with the other. A cleft-graft does not need to be 
bound with raffia or twine, because the stock is strong enough 
to hold the scion firmly. However, the split part and all about 
the scion must be covered with grafting wax to keep out the 
water. When the branch or stem to be grafted is a large one, 
two scions are generally put in, one on each side. 

A good grafting wax can be made by melting together three 
parts of resin, three parts of beeswax, and two parts of tallow. 
When cool it can be applied with a small paddle or old knife. 
This wax should be used on all large wounds, because they 
do not heal until the new growth grows over the cut ends from 
the green part of the bark. If wounds are left uncovered they 
are apt to begin decaying and thus weaken the tree or limb. 

In-arching is a method of grafting two plants which stand 
near each other. Each plant remains growing on its own root 
until the joined parts have grown together. To in-arch two 
plants it is only necessary to cut away the bark where they 
come together and tie them firmly with raflSa or narrow strips 
of cloth. If the plants joined are woody plants, the parts 
should be covered with wax. In-arching is practised mostly 
with soft-wooded and herbaceous plants. When the parts 
have grown together, the scion is cut loose from its root and 
the process is done. 

The methods of grafting and increasing plants described in 
this chapter are modified in many ways by nurserymen and 
fruit growers, but the principle is always the same. 



CHAPTER XIX 

TILLAGE 

Land which has been planted in fruit should be cultivated 
in much the same way as land planted to other crops. Of 
course before the fruit has been set out the land has been 
deeply plowed and thoroughly prepared. For several years 
after trees have been set out, the land can be cultivated in 
such crops as corn and potatoes. These are called hoed crops, 
because we try to keep down all weeds by cultivation. Such 
crops as wheat, oats, and timothy should not be raised in an 
orchard. They choke the trees too much. Cultivating in the 
orchard has the same effect as it has in other fields. It saves 
moisture, kills weeds, and makes plant food available. What- 
ever kind of fertilizer is applied to the crop is also helpful to 
the trees. Potatoes are one of the best crops to raise in a small 
orchard, because they occupy the ground only a couple of 
months during the summer. The tops of the potatoes shade 
the ground well, but the tops of the trees are not shaded and 
crowded as they are when corn is grown in the orchard. Po- 
tatoes can be dug early in the fall and with a harrow the 
ground can be put in shape for the sowing of a cover or 
mulching crop, such as rye, crimson clover, or cow-peas. It 
is quite desirable to have some covering on the ground during 
the autumn and winter, for the crop prevents a loss of the 
available plant food by using it in growing. Furthermore, 

146 



TILLAGE 



147 



the covering has a tendency to hold water and let it soak into 
the soil, thus storing it up for the next season as well as keep- 
ing the land from wash- 
ing. The covering also 
prevents the evaporation 
of moisture early in the 
spring, and when it is 
turned under it adds hu- 
mus to the soil, which we 
have learned is useful. 

Where the land is 
planted to vines and 
small fruits it will not 
be desirable to try to 
grow any kind of crop 
between the rows, but 
the plants themselves are 
cultivated all through the 
growing season, except 
during the season of 
fruiting. Cover or mulch- 
ing crops, however, are 
desirable for winter pro- 
tection. 

Many fruit growers after their trees have become large 
enough to produce fruit, stop cultivating and let the land be- 
come set in grass. Other growers keep their orchards bare 
and do not let anything grow under or between the trees. 
Growers of fruit should not forget to fertilize and manure 
their trees. Too many farmers believe that a fruit tree does 
not need anv manure or fertilizer. A load of stable manure 




27. 



A BASKET OF FINE PEACHES 



The large size and uniformity were secured 

by judicious thinning 

By courtesy of Ohio Experiment Station 



148 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

spread around an old apple tree that no longer bears good 
fruit will make a great difference within a year. Stable ma- 
nure is always good to spread on orchard land. It adds plant 
food and humus to the soil. In addition, phosphoric acid 
and potash fertilizers are very helpful. Good cultivation and 
heavy fertilizing will give large returns in fruit of large size, 
brilliancy of color and fineness of flavor. 



CHAPTER XX 
SETTING THE ORCHARD AND CARING FOR IT 

After a site has been chosen and the land prepared, the 
next thing in order is to lay out the field in a definite plan and 
set the trees. However, before this is done there must have 
been some attention given to the kinds of fruit, the varieties 
and the selection of trees. For family use there ought to be 
a few trees of all kinds of fruit that will grow in the locality. 
There ought to be, if it is possible to grow them, apples, pears, 
peaches, plums, and cherries. Where fruit is grown only for 
the use of the family not many trees of any one kind will be 
needed, but two or more trees of each kind will afford a vari- 
ety of tree fruits as well as give fruit at different times of the 
season. In the selection of varieties, the farmer or grower 
needs to take into account the tastes of the family, the adapta- 
tion of the varieties to the climate, their yielding power, and 
their time of ripening fruit. If care is given to this last point, 
there can be fresh ripe fruit for use nearly the entire summer. 

Where a grower is raising fruit for market, he will usually 
raise only one or two kinds of fruit, and only a few varieties 
of these kinds. He will choose such kinds and varieties as 
sell well on the market and by reason of their handsome 
appearance and good quality bring big prices. He will also 
want varieties that are large yielders. To the grower raising 
fruit for home use only, the quality of the fruit is important. 

149 



150 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

He wants good flavor rather than size and handsome 
appearance. 

It is best to get trees from a home nursery if such is to be 
found. The buyer can go there after his trees and will be 
more certain of getting the varieties which he wants. He can 
also select the size of trees desired. Trees obtained from a 
home nursery will be better adapted to the climate than those 
obtained from a distance. If no home nursery is to be reached, 
one must buy from nurseries at a distance. The most reliable 
rather than the cheapest one should be patronized. It is best 
to buy northern grown trees. Trees one or two years old are 
to be preferred. They do not yet have very large tops and the 
grower can shape the tops to suit. Young trees suffer less in 
the transplanting and begin growing almost as though they 
had not been moved. Trees four or five years old will lose 
a year or more in recovering from the set-back due to cutting 
off so many roots and so much top as is necessary in moving 
them. 

Having selected the trees it is best to have them dug early 
in the spring before growth begins and brought to the place 
where they are to be transplanted. Here they should be 
heeled in until time to reset. By heeling in is meant the cov- 
ering of the roots of the young trees as they are bound together 
in the bunch. One digs a shallow hole and puts in the entire 
bunch of roots and covers them with soil. When buds have 
begun to start on other fruit trees, the heeled-in trees can be 
dug out and reset. It will be noticed that the cut ends of the 
roots have begun to heal, or callous, over and young roots have 
started. This condition is desirable, and such trees will grow 
better than trees freshly dug and reset. 

In setting out trees in the houseyard or around buildings, 



SETTING THE ORCHARD AND CARING FOR IT 151 

no attention is given to getting them in straight Hnes, but 
when an orchard is to be set out care is usually taken to have 
the trees in straight rov^s. To do this requires careful meas- 
uring and the setting of a stake where each tree is to stand. 
Even after this is done it is difficult to dig the hole and set the 
tree so that it will stand exactly where the stake stood. 
"The only method by which this can be done is by having 
a stake set wherever a tree is to stand, then have a board 
about six inches wide and six feet long (as shown in Fig. 28) . 
Cut a notch in one side at the middle just about large enough 



■6Ft.— - -- 

^ oj to 



28. A PLANTING BOARD 
An easy device for setting trees in line 

for the stem of the tree, bore a hole in each end exactly the 
same distance from the middle notch. Then, whenever a tree 
is to be planted, place the board on the ground with the 
notch around the stake and stick two other pegs through the 
holes in the ends, remove the board, leaving the two pins 
remaining, dig the hole, replace the board and set the tree 
with the stem in the notch."* Such a board as described 
above is called a planting board and is very helpful. 

The distance apart to set trees is important. Trees which 
grow large and live many years should be set far apart. 
Trees which have small tops when grown and which do not 
live many years can be set quite close. In setting large 
orchards care should be taken, that there is room enough 
between trees so that teams and wagons can be driven be- 
tween them when gathering the fruit, spraying the trees, or 
* Bulletin 152, Department of Agriculture, Pennsylvania. 



152 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

cultivating the ground. Apple trees should stand about 35 
or 40 feet apart in the rows, pears 20 feet (dwarf pears 10 
feet), peaches, plums, and cherries 16 to 20 feet, and quinces 
about 12 feet. In planting an apple orchard many growers 
plant peaches, pears, or cherries between the apple trees, be- 
cause the apple grows slowly and does not begin to bear fruit 
for several years, whereas the peaches, pears, and cherries 
begin to bear fruit in two or three years. As the apple 
trees become larger the other fruit trees can be cut out. In 
this way the orchard is made to pay returns almost at once, 
but such practice is often bad for the apple trees, because it 
crowds them and robs them of their food. Then, too, the 
grower does not like to cut out a peach, pear, or cherry tree 
that is thrifty and bearing lots of fruit. 

In transplanting, care should be taken to set the young tree 
properly. Usually it is leaned a little toward the direction from 
which the wind generally comes. This is to prevent it from 
being blown in the opposite direction. As it becomes older it 
will usually stand straight. If the roots have been badly torn 
and bruised in digging from the nursery row, the torn ends 
should be cut oif . The wounds will then soon callous, or heal 
over, and young roots quickly start. Where trees have been 
"heeled in'' this trimming should have been done before the 
heeling in. The loose soil should be carefully filled in around 
the roots and pressed down with the foot. The surface 
should be left loose to act as a mulch. If there is any sod, it 
should be turned upside down in the hole. It is usually not 
necessary to pour water around the tree when transplanting. 
If watering is done after transplanting the ground should be 
thoroughly soaked, for a slight watering does more harm than 
good. After the tree is set it will be necessary to prune the 



SETTING THE ORCHARD AND CARING FOR IT 153 

top, because in digging up the young trees probably more than 
half of the roots were left in the ground. There will not be 
enough roots, therefore, to supply food and moisture for the 
large number of leaves that will come on the top if it is left 
unpruned. The top should be cut back more than the roots 
have been reduced. Some growers cut off all the branches 
and leave the young tree as a single straight stem; others 
cut the branches back a good deal, depending upon the age 
of the tree. The first method is probably better for peaches 
and the last better for the other tree fruits. In the last 
method the head, or top, is started at once, while by the 
first, one waits until the second year to start the head. 

The head is started at various distances from the ground, 
depending upon the climate. In cold climates the head is 
formed so that the lower branches are only two or three feet 
from the ground, while in warmer regions it may be much 
higher. The low head is more convenient when the fruit is to 
be picked, but the high heads are more easily worked around 
in cultivating. In shaping the head of the tree care should be 
taken not to have two limbs starting from the same place on 
the stem. Such a condition forms a crotch and when the tree 
is heavy with fruit, the limbs are apt to split apart there. 

After the head is started the young trees should be pruned 
carefully each year. Usually not much will have to be cut off 
at one time. Such limbs as will not give the shape desired 
should be removed, and when there are too many limbs some 
must be cut out. If the tree is growing too fast the longer 
limbs are cut back. This is called heading in and is much 
practised by some who wish to keep the heads of their trees 
small and compact. Usually, however, care should be taken 
that the heads do not become too thick. Limbs should be 



154 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

cut out until the head is rather open. This gives admission to 
air and sunHght and permits the fruit on the inside of the top 
to ripen at the same time as the outer fruit and also be well 
colored. 

Sometimes when trees begin to bear fruit the grower dis- 
covers that the fruit is not the kind that he wants. In such 
cases, if he wishes, the grower can top-graft his trees with the 
varieties which he desires. In top-grafting the top is cut back 
severely and small scions are introduced into all the larger 
limbs. The small limbs are cut off entirely, and limbs having 
a diameter of one inch or more are used for the stocks. Top- 
grafting is hard on the tree because so many wounds are 
made, but the tree usually recovers and bears fruit from the 
grafts. 

Orchards which have never been cared for can usually be 
made to bear good fruit rather easily. Such trees should be 
pruned sensibly, washed, scraped, and sprayed. Too many 
limbs should not be cut out at once. The trunks should be 
washed with strong soap suds, using a stiff brush. Before 
washing it is well to scrape the old bark and moss from the 
large limbs and the trunk with a hoe. The whole tree should 
be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. (See Chapter XXIX.) 
The spraying and washing will soak up the bark so that 
the tree can grow well. The spraying and washing also kill 
insects and fungus diseases. Such treatment of old orchards 
is called renovating. 



CHAPTER XXI 
THE FRUITS 

The tree fruits may be divided into pome and stone fruits. 

1. Pome Fruits. — The apple, pear, and quince are called 
pomes, because they contain a core in which are the seeds. 

The Apple. — The apple is one of the oldest cultivated 
fruits in the temperate zone. It originated in Eastern Europe 
and Western Asia. Some varieties of the crab-apple came 
from European or Siberian ancestry, while others came from 
our native American wild crab-apple, or from crosses of it 
and the European crab-apple. 

When fine, large apples are desired thinning should be 
practised. This is done by pulling off some of the young 
apples when they are as large as small nuts. Thinning is 
tedious work, but will pay well in fine fruit. 

Apple varieties are classed as summer, autumn, and winter 
sorts. There are many good varieties of each kind — more 
than we can attempt to name here. Yellow Transparent, 
Early Harvest, Red Astrachan, Duchess, and Benoni are 
good summer varieties. For autumn use the Maiden Blush, 
Wealthy, Rambo,Fall Pippin, Bellflower, and Grimes' Golden 
are excellent. Rome Beauty, Ben Davis, Smith's Cider, 
Tulpehocken, and Winesap are good keepers for winter use. 
All varieties are greatly influenced by conditions of soil and 
climate, and a variety which is popular in one section may 
not be at all satisfactory in some other place. 

155 



. THE FRUITS 157 

Some good varieties of crab-apples are Transcendent, 
Siberian, and Hyslop. 

The Pear. — The pear was probably first cultivated in 
Asia, although there is reason to believe that many varieties 
first came into use in Europe. It is said that the best soil for 
pears is ''a strong loam of moderate depth with a dry sub- 
soil." * Pears are dwarfed, that is, made to grow small tops, 
by being grafted on quince roots. But even when so grafted 
the top has to be trimmed back considerably to keep it from 
growing too large. To get fine fruit, pears should be thinned 
so that the young pears hang from four to six inches from each 
other. The flavor of pears is improved if they are picked 
before fully ripe and placed in a cool, dry place on the floor 
or on shelves and allowed to ripen slowly. Air currents should 
not blow over them. Pears to be kept for winter use should be 
put into barrels or boxes and kept in a cool place. The time 
to pick is when the fruit will separate easily from the twig. 
Some varieties of pears cannot fertilize their own blossoms 
and must be planted with such varieties as are self-fertile. 

The Anjou, Bartlett, Clapp's Favorite, and Lawrence are 
good varieties, but cannot fertilize themselves. They should 
be planted with some of the following, also good varieties: 
Flemish Beauty, Keiffer, Le Conte, Seckel, and Angouleme. 

The Quince. — This fruit is found growing wild both in 
Europe and in Asia. In the United States the quince is 
grown mostly east and south-east of the Great Lakes. It is 
used mostly for jellies and preserves. It requires rich, moist 
soil to give the best crops. It is usually allowed to grow up 
as a bush, having a number of stems from the base. It can 
also be pruned into a tree. The fruit is usually not picked 

* Downing. 



158 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

until it has been frosted a couple of times, although some pick 
the fruit when yet green and ripen it in a cool, dark room. 

Two of the best varieties are the Orange and Champion. 
A variety known as the Japanese quince is used entirely for 
ornamental purposes. It has beautiful, showy red flowers. 
The fruit is useless and is small both in size and quantity. 

2. Stone Fruits. — The cherry, plum, peach, prune, and 
apricot are called stone fruits, because the seed is enclosed in 
a hard, stony shell. 

The Cherry. — This fruit came from Asia. There are two 
kinds of cherries, sweet and sour. The sweet cherry is often 
called the heart cherry. With the sweet cherry the blossoms 
appear with the leaves, while with the sour cherry the blos- 
soms come first. Sweet cherries do not stand transplanting 
well, many of the trees dying. It is better to plant seeds where 
trees are to grow and then bud with buds from trees which 
have been good producers of fruit. The sour cherries are 
easily transplanted. Cherries will grow on almost any soil 
not too wet, but a well-drained, light loam soil is best. The 
head of the cherry tree should be started near the ground in 
order to make it easy to pick the fruit and also to protect the 
stem of the tree from the hot sun, which often scalds or burns 
the bark, sometimes killing the tree. Trees do not need 
much pruning after they begin to bear. 

Some of the best sour varieties are the Early Richmond, 
Dyehouse, English Morello, and Montmorency. Of sweet 
cherries the Governor Wood, Windsor, and Black Tartarian 
are among the best varieties. 

The Plum. — The plum is native to America, Europe, and 
Asia. Many good varieties have come from each of these 
countries. The central states are as well adapted as any 



THE FRUITS 159 

place in the world to the growing of plums. Plums are usually 
started from the seeds and then budded. It is best to bud in 
damp weather, and the bud is usually placed on the north side. 
Scion grafting is also practised, but must be done in early 
spring. Plums grow in all kinds of soil and differ somewhat 
according to variety, but best crops are obtained on heavy 
loams or clays. Two or three varieties should be planted to- 
gether so that the blossoms will fertilize each other. The fruit 
should be thinned so that no two plums touch each other. 
Some of the best varieties of plums are : Wild Goose, Robin- 
son, Bradshaw, Lombard, Green Gage, Abundance, Blue 
Damson, Burbank, Red June, and Satsuma. 

The prune is a plum, firmer and not quite so juicy as 
ordinary plums. It is usually dried before being put on the 
market. The Fellenberg, York State, and German prune 
are among the best prune varieties. 

The Peach. — The peach is more largely sold on the market 
than any other stone fruit. Because of the ease with which 
they may be grown almost every farmhouse has a number of 
peach trees about it. Peaches first came from Persia. They 
are not able to stand the cold winters of northern regions, 
but nearly all the states in the Union produce some peaches, 
while Michigan, Long Island, Maryland, Georgia, Alabama, 
and California are famous for them. 

A rich, sandy loam soil is best for peaches. Heavy soils are 
to be avoided, if possible. The soil usually has an influence 
over the flavor. Young trees are started from seeds sown in 
autumn. The next spring they come up and are large enough 
to be budded in August. Grafting is hardly ever practised, 
because the cuts do not heal quickly. In getting buds for 
budding, select from trees which have borne fruit. Care 



160 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

should be taken not to select fruit buds, but leaf buds. 
Trees should be carefully pruned while young, and when 
they begin to bear they will not need much pruning. Cut- 
ting back about one-third of the new growth each year is 
enough. The peaches are always borne on the growth of the 
previous year. To get fine fruit, peaches should be thinned 
so that they are three or four inches apart on the twigs. 

Varieties of peaches may be classed as free-stones and 
cling-stones, that is, in one the flesh comes loose from the 
seed easily when ripe, while in the other the flesh clings 
closely to the seed and has to be cut away. The flesh may 
be white, yellow, or red blushed in either class. Some of the 
good varieties are as follows: free-stones. Old Mixon Free, 
Champion, Stump, Elberta (most widely planted of all vari- 
eties), and Early and Late Crawfords; cling-stones. Carmen, 
Heath Cling, Sneed, and Steady's Cling. 

The Apricot. — This fruit resembles both the plum and the 
peach. It comes into blossom quite early in spring before 
any other fruit tree and is often frosted so that no fruit is 
produced. It is cared for the same as the peach. The Large 
Early and Moorpark are considered good varieties. 

The Nectarine is a kind of peach. The seeds from it 
sometimes produce peaches and sometimes nectarines. 

3. Vine Fruits. — The Grape. — The grape is our only vine 
fruit. Grapes are more largely used as a fruit in the United 
States than in any other part of the world, although their 
culture was known in Europe and Asia centuries before 
America was discovered. Most of our grape varieties have 
been developed from our native wild varieties. The wild fox 
grape has furnished most of the varieties grown in the north- 
ern and eastern states; the summer grape those for the 



THE FRUITS 161 

southern states; and the wild grape of the river banks the 
varieties for the western and south-western states. On the 
Pacific coast most of the varieties are of European origin. It 
is here that the raisin grapes are raised. 

Grapes will grow in any well-drained soil, but best in a 
dark-colored loam not too fertile. Grapes are usually propa- 
gated by cuttings or by layering. Commercial growers keep 
the young vines closely pruned back until they are four years 
old and then let them bear only a few bunches of fruit. The 
farmer usually does not cut back his vines so much. The 
commercial grower trains his vines to grow on a trellis, or a 
stake. The farmer lets his vines run along the side of a build- 
ing or on a roof and sometimes over an archway to make 
shade as well as fruit. Finer fruit will be obtained if not too 
many clusters are allowed to grow on a vine. It is best for the 
vine to cut it back heavily every year, leaving only one or 
two buds on a branch and not many branches on a main 
stem. Pruning is best done in the autumn or very early in 
spring. If the vine is pruned in the spring the sap is apt to 
ooze from the cut end ("bleed'') and weaken the vine. 

The varieties are classed as purple, red, and white. Of the 
purple ones, Moore's Early, Worden, and Concord are good ; 
of the red, Brighton, Salem, and Delaware; and of the white. 
Diamond, Niagara, and Martha. 

4. Small Fruits. — Of the small fruits the currant, goose- 
berry, raspberry, blackberry, and dewberry, are commonly 
called bush fruits from their habit of growth. 

The Currant. — All our good varieties of currants have been 
brought from Europe or developed from European varieties. 
The currant naturally likes cool conditions and so does best 
in a rather compact soil. However, the soil should be fertile 



162 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

and it is well to manure the currant heavily. It is good prac- 
tice to mulch around currant bushes with straw, rotted saw- 
dust, or coarse manure. The mulching keeps the soil moist 
and cool. New plants are obtained easily by planting 
cuttings. These can be made in August from the shoots 
of the same year's growth. These cuttings should be about 
six inches long. They are stuck in the ground until only the 
top end is exposed. They will take root the same fall. Cur- 
rants do not need much pruning, except to keep the bushes 
from getting too thick and having too many old stems. The 
currants are produced on stems which are one year old or 
more. Stems older than three years ought to be removed. 

The best varieties are the Pomona, Red Dutch, Wilder, 
Fay, White Grape, and White Dutch. The last two are white 
in color and are used for dessert purposes mainly. 

The Gooseberry. — Most of our gooseberry varieties are of 
American origin. There are some good varieties from West- 
ern Europe and England, but they are more likely to be 
attacked by mildew, a kind of plant disease, than our Ameri- 
can sorts. New plants are obtained by cuttings and from lay- 
ering. It is better to plant the cuttings very early in spring 
after keeping them buried in a dry place out of doors all win- 
ter. Otherwise they are cared for just as currants. 

Some of the best American varieties are Downing, Cham- 
pion, Houghton, Pearl, and Smith. Of the European the In- 
dustry, Chautauqua, and Portage are fairly good. 

The Raspberry. — There are two principal kinds of rasp- 
berries: the blackcap and the red. There are also yellowish- 
colored raspberries. These are ''sports" from the red vari- 
eties. A sport is an oddity — an accident. No one has been 
able as yet to explain just what causes "sports." 



THE FRUITS 163 

The blackcap varieties mostly have black-colored berries 
and are native Americans. They grow best on sandy or clay 
loam soils that are rich, moist, and v^ell-d rained. Plenty of 
humus in the soil is desirable because it holds moisture. Suc- 
cess with any kind of berries depends upon having the soil 
moist at fruiting time. Plenty of stable manure is a good fer- 
tilizer for blackcap varieties. The plants are increased by 
the tips of the new canes taking root at the ends. The 
berries are borne on canes one year old. As soon as the 
berries are ripe these canes die and should be removed. 
To keep new canes from getting too tall they should be 
pinched off at the tips when two or three feet high. This will 
cause them to send out many side branches which will also 
have to be pinched back when they are ten or twelve inches 
long. Such treatment makes strong, sturdy plants. New 
plants should be set in the spring and the old canes attached 
to Ihem should be cut off near the ground so that no berries 
will be produced the first year" 

The red raspberries are of two kinds which are much alike. 
One is of American origin and the other is from Europe. The 
red varieties do not take root at the tip of the canes, but send 
up many suckers from their roots. New plants can also be 
produced from root cuttings. The red varieties are better 
when not pinched back during the summer, but should be 
cut back to a height of three or four feet the next spring. 
Red raspberries grow on about the same soil as the black- 
caps. 

Some good varieties of the blackcaps are Gregg, Kansas, 
Black Diamond, Nemeha, and Conrath. Of the red varieties 
the Cuthbert, Loudon, Miller, and Marlboro are good. The 
Golden Queen is a good yellow variety. 



164 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

The Blackberry. — This fruit is cultivated only in America. 
Our varieties are all American. The soil and treatment for 
blackberries is almost entirely the same as for raspberries. In 
pruning new canes it is well to wait until the blossom-buds 
appear in the spring, otherwise the crop may be cut short by 
pruning off the very parts which would produce fruit. The 
old canes, of course, are removed in autumn. Early varieties 
are to be preferred on account of danger that dry weather will 
cut the crop short. Some of the best varieties are Snider, 
Erie, Agawam, Eldorado, and Ancient Briton. 

The Dewberry. — The fruit and plant of the dewberry look 
very much like the blackberry. The plants have a trailing 
habit of growth. There are few flowers in a cluster, and the 
middle one opens first, while in a blackberry the outer flow- 
ers open first. Dewberries ripen their fruit earlier in the sea- 
son than do blackberries. Dewberries increase their plants 
by taking root at the tips of the canes; blackberries produce 
new plants from suckers or root cuttings. 

The Lucretia is about the best variety. The Windom, 
Mayes, and Bartel are also good in certain sections. 

The Strawberry. — The strawberry is a small fruit in a class 
by itself. It is found wild in Europe, in North America, and 
in South America. Our cultivated varieties are derived from 
the mixing of varieties from all three sources. Strawberries 
will grow on any good soil. It should be deeply plowed and 
worked down to a firm seed-bed. Autumn plowing is best. 
Leave the soil rough and harrow it in spring. The plants 
should be set early in spring and should not be allowed to 
bear fruit the first year. In selecting plants, only young ones 
should be used. Young plants always have bright yellow 
roots. They are usually planted in rows. For large patches 



THE FRUITS 165 

the rows are three or four feet apart and the plants eighteen 
inches apart in the row. For a small patch they may be closer 
set. The plants should be cultivated during the summer and 
runners should not be allowed to grow until July. The plant 
will in this way be stronger. 

Some varieties of strawberries do not produce any stamens, 
but only pistils. Such varieties are called 'pistillate; other 
varieties have both stamens and pistils and are said to be 
perfect. In planting a patch of strawberries it is necessary to 
mix the pistillate and perfect varieties, or else the pistillate 
varieties will not get fertilized and cannot produce fruit. As 
soon as a crop of berries is harvested it is a good plan to mow 
off the leaves and as soon as they are dry burn them. This 
destroys many insects and weeds and the new growth of 
leaves will be all the more thrifty. A patch should not bear 
more than two years before being plowed up. 

There are many good varieties. Warfield, Bubach, and 
Haverland are pistillate. Clyde, Gandy, Jesse, Bederwood, 
Cumberland, Parker Earle, and Sharpless are good perfect 
varieties. 



CHAPTER XXII 
11. OLERICULTURE OR VEGETABLE GROWING 

PLANNING AND PREPARING THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 

Before beginning this discussion of our subject it will be 
necessary to make clear what is meant by vegetables. In the 
scientific sense all plants are vegetables, because all plant 
life belongs to the vegetable kingdom. We say, also, when 
speaking scientifically, that whatever results from a blos- 
som is a fruit, whether it be an apple, a pepper, a tomato, 
a walnut, or a cone from a pine tree. But in common usage, 
practically everything which is raised in the garden or truck 
patch, except the small fruits, is called a vegetable. Hence, 
we call tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, cabbages, peas, sweet 
corn, pumpkins, and all such, vegetables. 

Every farm has its garden and truck patch. Usually the 
two are separate. In the garden are usually grown a few of the 
smaller and earlier vegetables like radishes, onions, beans and 
peas, along with some small fruits. In the truck patch are 
grown potatoes, tomatoes, sweet corn, cucumbers and the 
like. The labor in the garden is done by hand; in the truck 
patch largely with a horse. 

Now it will be a saving of time and labor if the garden and 
truck patch are combined into one and so arranged that the 
labor can be done by a horse and horse-tools. Such a garden 
should be laid out with long rows, so that there will not need 

166 



OLERICULTURE OR VEGETABLE GROWING 167 

to be much turning in preparing and cultivating the ground. 
It is not necessary that every row be complete with only one 
kind of vegetable. Several kinds can be planted in the same 
row. If bush fruits are grown in the garden, they should 
occupy one side of it so as to be out of the way as much as 
possible. Such plants as hold their places for several years, 
like asparagus and rhubarb, should also be put at one side. 
If only annuals are raised the garden can have a place in the 
corn field nearest the house, but this is usually not satisfac- 
tory, because the men are not so likely to use care in cultivat- 
ing the small garden plants as they would if the garden plants 
were alone in a separate plat of ground. Then, too, the vege- 
table garden should be near the house in order to be con- 
venient. 

A rich sandy loam, or loam, soil is best adapted for most 
vegetables. If the plat of ground slopes slightly to the south 
or south-west it is all the better. A northern slope should not 
be chosen unless one wishes to raise late vegetables. The 
land should be well drained, either naturally or by under- 
draining. If the subsoil is very hard and compact, subsoiling 
will be helpful. However, under-draining and deep plowing 
will make subsoiling rarely necessary. 

Land for vegetables should always be carefully prepared. 
The seed is usually small and the young plants are weak, so 
that it is necessary that the seed-bed be very fine and mellow. 
Stable manure is the most widely used fertilizer. It should be 
thoroughly rotted, so that the weed seeds are pretty well killed 
out. Men who raise large quantities of vegetables for market 
frequently use commercial fertilizers. The commercial fertil- 
izers do not bring any weed seeds to the soil, while the stable 
manures are often quite full of them. 



168 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

In the preparation of the rotted manure for the garden it is 
well to gather the manure from the stables and put it in a pile. 
As soon as it begins to heat it should be forked over so as 
to mix the outside with the inside. The forking over also 
keeps it from getting too hot and burning. Should the pile 
seem too dry, water can be put on, but care should be used 
not to add too much. It will be necessary to fork over the 
heap several times before it will be done heating. It can then 
be piled in a tall heap and allowed to stand until ready for 
use. 

A compost heap is about the same as a manure heap, except 
that it contains all kinds of trash that will rot. Dead leaves, 
straw, dead vines, manure from the stables, and decaying 
vegetables are all dumped together in a convenient place and 
frequently forked over, or if the hogs have an opportunity 
they will usually keep the pile pretty well worked over. It is 
a good idea to make a foundation for the manure heap and 
compost heap out of blocks of sod. The pieces of sod will 
catch and hold the drainage water from the heap. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
RAISING PLANTS 

Usually the farmer buys such plants as he cannot raise 
early enough from seed sown in the prepared ground. Early 
cabbage and tomato plants are usually bought from market 
gardeners. Where one wishes to produce his own plants, 
hot-beds and cold frames are necessary. 

A hot-bed is a box-like affair containing a good deal of ma- 
nure in the bottom, over which is a layer of earth. The top 
is covered with window sash to let in the sun and keep out 
cold. The hot-bed can be of any convenient size. It is usually 
four to six feet wide, according to the length of the sash to be 
used for covering. Planks two inches thick and twelve inches 
or more wide are used for the back, which should be toward 
the north. The plank for the front should be half as wide as 
the back plank. This permits the sash to slope to the south 
and catch the sun. The planks that close the ends will have 
to be cut sloping from the back to the front. The planks are 
held in place by strong stakes and by nailing the ends. The 
soil on the inside can be dug cut and used to bank up against 
the planks on the outside. This helps to keep it warm inside. 

Fresh manure from the horse stables is used to fill in the 
bottom of the hot-bed. It is made a foot or more deep, 
according to the time of the year; if in early March it may be 
twenty inches or more deep. Before putting the manure into 

169 



170 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



the hot-bed it should be gathered into a heap and started to 
heating and stirred once or twice. It should be very finely 
broken up. The manure should be very evenly spread over 
the bottom and tramped solid. Over the manure are placed 
six or eight inches of rich soil. This soil will usually have to 
be prepared and stored in the autumn, as the ground is likely 




30. HOT-BEDS USED FOR STARTING EARLY PL.\NTS 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 



to be frozen or too wet in the spring. The framework should 
be made and the digging out of the box ought also to be done 
in the autumn. After the soil is put on, it should be moistened 
and allowed to stand until warmed by the heating of the 
manure. The weed seeds in the soil will soon germinate. 
After they have been destroyed the seed for the garden plants 
can be planted. A hot-bed will usually give off heat for five 



RAISING PLANTS 171 

or six weeks. Some attention will have to be given to the 
matter of ventilating the hot-bed by raising the sash a little. 

A cold-frame is made almost exactly like a hot-bed, except 
that no manure for heating is used. The only heat supplied is 
that from the sun through the glass. A cold-frame is used 
usually for hardening plants that have been grown in a hot-bed. 
If cabbage and tomato plants that have been grown in a hot- 
bed were to be planted out in the open garden early in the 
spring they would probably die because of the great change 
from warm to cold, but if they are transplanted to the cold- 
frame for a few days they get hardened, so that they will 
stand a good deal of cold without injury. Sometimes cold- 
frames are used for growing lettuce and other plants that do 
not need much warmth. 

The greenhouse is really only a collection of cold-frames 
and hot-beds. The heat is furnished from a furnace and 
a special glass building is constructed to let in the sunlight. 
Only gardeners who supply large markets and who grow 
vegetables for winter market can afford the expense of a 
greenhouse. 

Transplanting. — The young plants of cabbages, tomatoes, 
and many other vegetables are usually started in the green- 
house or hot-bed, and when the weather is warm enough they 
are set out in the garden where they are to grow. This reset- 
ting is called transplanting. If possible, transplanting should 
be done on cloudy days or during damp weather. Where 
only a few plants are to be moved, they can usually be set out 
in the evening or before a shower. Plants do better if reset in 
freshly prepared ground. The soil should be pressed down 
closely around the roots, and the surface left loose to act as a 
mulch. Some gardeners pour a tinful of water around each 



172 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

plant in resetting, but this is hardly necessary if the plants 
are set in moist soil and the earth firmed around the roots. 

In transplanting it is a good idea to cut off part of the 
leaves so that the plant will not wilt so much. The leaves evap- 
orate moisture, and if all are left on they evaporate more 
moisture than the freshly set roots can supply, and as a result 
the plant wilts. Clipping the ends of the leaves is the proper 
way to reduce the evaporating surface. If the weather is 
warm and sunshiny it is well to shade the plants for a few 
days with a shingle or some kind of covering. 

Seed. — What has been said concerning good seed under 
Farm Crops applies equally well to all garden seeds. It is, 
perhaps, more difficult to get garden seeds true to name than 
those of the field crops. When a good variety has been found 
it is a good plan to save some of the very best plants and let 
them produce seed for the next year's vegetables. 



CHAPTER XXIV 
SOME OF THE COMMON VEGETABLES 

Many garden plants which are raised in gardens and truck 
patches are also raised on a larger scale in fields as field crops. 
Beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips, potatoes, onions, sweet pota- 
toes have already been spoken of in Chapter XII. The same 
methods of handling those vegetables in the field apply equally 
as well in the garden and truck patch. The same is true of 
other roots, like radishes and salsify. 

Beans should not be planted until the danger from frost is 
past. They are planted about an inch and a half deep in rows 
as far apart as necessary for cultivation. The plants may be 
five or six inches apart in the row. If they are to be used 
green the pods should be picked just as soon as large enough, 
otherwise they will begin to ripen and the plant will stop 
bearing. Varieties which are used green in the pods are called 
string beans, wax beans, or snap beans. Those which are 
used ripe and shelled are called shell beans. Some varieties 
produce long vines and need poles to climb on, but most 
varieties are dwarf and grow bushy without support. 

Peas can be planted in spring as soon as the ground is 

dry enough to work. For a succession of crops they can be 

planted every two weeks until the first of June. Peas are 

used green almost entirely, the green peas being shelled out 

of the pods. As with beans, some varieties grow tall and need 

173 



174 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

supports, while others are dwarf. For support, brush two 
or three feet long can be stuck into the ground, or chicken 
wire fastened to posts may be used. 

Cahbage-like Plants. — There are a number of vegetables 
closely related to and resembling cabbage which are raised 
in gardens for home or market purposes. Among these we 
have cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, 
and kohl-rabi. All of these are much alike in the matter of 
raising. Early plants are started in hot-beds or greenhouses 
and then transplanted. For late plants the seed may be sown 
in the open, but it is always best to transplant. 

The cauliflower is much like cabbage, and as soon as it be- 
gins to head the outer leaves should be tied up together over 
the centre to keep the sun out. Broccoli is much like cauli- 
flower. Brussels sprouts has leaves like cabbage, but instead 
of one large head, at the base of each leaf there is a small head 
about two inches in diameter. This is the part used and it 
is best in the autumn, usually after being frosted. Kale is 
used somewhat like lettuce or "greens." It is also used late 
in autumn. The kohl-rabi looks like a turnip with cabbage 
leaves growing out all over it. It is cooked and used like 
turnips. The seed is usually sown where the plants are to 
grow and no transplanting is done. 

The Potato Family. — There are a number of garden plants 
related to the potato, such as the tomato, pepper, and egg- 
plant. These plants all had their origin in a warm climate 
and cannot be planted in the open until the danger of frost is 
past, and they are killed down by the first frost in the autumn. 
To get an early start, young plants should be grown from seed 
in the hot-bed or in boxes in the house, and hardened in the 
cold-frame or exposed in the open to sunlight some days be- 



SOME OF THE COMMON VEGETABLES 175 

fore planting. Tomatoes need to be supported by being tied 
to stakes or trellises. Tomatoes need a great deal of room 
and, if possible, ought to be set three feet apart each way. 

Tomatoes are frequently raised as a field crop for sale to 
canneries. For such purpose a clover sod on loam soil fur- 
nishes one of the best conditions for success. It should be 
plowed rather early and frequently harrowed until time to 
set the plants. In the latitude of Indiana the plants are set 
out about June first. The plants are placed about four feet 
apart each way and are usually set by hand. They are culti- 
vated frequently, the same as corn. When raised under field 
conditions, no supports are given to the vines. The plants 
will begin to produce ripe tomatoes about the middle of 
August and continue until frost kills them. 

The Gourd Family. — The gourd family has a number of 
plants which are very useful as vegetables. Of these we 
may mention squash, pumpkin, muskmelon, watermelon, 
and cucumber. All of these have come from warm climates, 
— the pumpkin and squash from several sources, the musk- 
melon from Asia, the watermelon from Africa, and the cu- 
cumber from the East Indies. 

The squash and pumpkin grow best on good loam soil. 
They should be planted six or eight feet apart when planted 
alone. Many farmers plant squash and pumpkin seeds with 
their corn. The vines do not grow much until after corn cul- 
tivation is over. Then they grow rapidly and sometimes pro- 
duce a large number of squashes and pumpkins. However, 
the best yields are obtained when they are planted alone. 
They should not be planted until the weather is quite warm. 
Where extra early squashes are wanted, the plants are started 
in hot-beds and cold-frames and then transplanted. 



176 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

There are many varieties of squash; some are known as 
summer squash, others as winter squash. There are two 
classes of pumpkins; one kind, used largely for feeding live 
stock, is sometimes called ''cow pumpkin," but is also much 
used for pies. The other class is known as ''sweet pump- 




31. A BASKET OF CHOICE MUSKMELONS RAISED IN 
SOUTHERN INDIANA 

Notice the finely-netted rinds 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 

kin " and is used almost entirely for pies. It is not so largely 
grown as the first class. 

Pumpkins and squashes can be kept quite late into the 
winter, if they are pulled before heavy frosts and set away in 
a cool, dry cellar or room. Pumpkins are often kept in the 
oats bin, or covered with corn fodder or hay in the barn. 

The muskmelon grows best in a sandy soil which has been 



SOME OF THE COMMON VEGETABLES 177 

well manured. The plants should be set four to six feet apart, 
with a shovelful of well rotted manure mixed with the soil of 
each hill. When the vines have grown several feet the ends 
may be pinched off. This will cause the young melons to 
develop better. Those varieties are best which have the rind 
finely netted. The melons are not ripe until they part from 
the stem easily. 

Watermelons are raised much like muskmelons. The 
hills should be about eight feet apart and the vines are usually 
not pinched back. They need good warm soil. The grower 
tells a ripe melon by thumping it with his finger. One has to 
have much practice before he can tell a ripe watermelon 
without ''plugging" it. 

Cucumbers require a loam soil with considerable moisture. 
The plants should stand in hills about five or six feet apart. 
About three plants may be allowed to a hill. It is well to plant 
more seeds than one expects to mature into plants. Some 
plants will be puny and should be pulled out, and the insects 
will destroy others. This is also true of the melons, squashes, 
and pumpkins. Early plants can be started in hot-beds and 
cold-frames. 

Cucumbers are used in two ways; namely, for slicing and 
for pickles. When used for slicing they are allowed to grow 
full size, but are picked while still green. For pickles they 
are picked at various sizes, according to the desire of the 
grower or customer, usually from two to three inches in 
length. No cucumbers should be allowed to go to seed or the 
vine will stop bearing. When the green cucumbers are kept 
picked off, the vines continue bearing until killed by the frost. 
Seed is obtained by letting some of the choicest cucumbers 
ripen on the vine. 



178 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

There are a number of vegetables which are called salad 
plants. A salad plant is one the leaves of which are used 
green on the table, usually with a dressing of some kind over 
them. The leaves of some plants are wilted or cooked before 
serving; then they become fot-herbs. Pot-herbs are often 
called ''greens." 

Lettuce is our most common salad plant. It is grown very 
extensively in greenhouses for winter market. The seed is 
sown in small boxes and the young plants transplanted about 
twelve inches apart in beds. For early spring use, plants are 
started in boxes, hardened in cold-frames, and transplanted to 
the open. For family use most farmers sow broadcast a small 
bed in the open, as early in spring as possible. It is usually 
grown without cultivation, but if the plants are transplanted 
to rows twelve inches apart and cultivated, the heads are 
much nicer. 

Other salad plants are cress, endive, chicory, and parsley. 
Some of the common pot-herbs are Swiss chard — a kind of 
beet, mustard, spinach, dandelion, and sour dock. The last 
two are usually not cultivated, but gathered from waste 
places where they grow in abundance. The package in which 
the seed is purchased usually gives directions for the culti- 
vation of any of the above. 

Sweet Corn when grown for table use or for canneries is to 
be considered a vegetable. Its cultivation does not differ 
from that of field corn already described, except that more 
stalks are allowed to grow in a hill. Planting may be made 
at intervals as late as July in order to furnish a succession of 
crops. Early Minnesota and Crosby Early are good early 
varieties, while Stowell's Evergreen and Country Gentleman 
are standard late sorts. To keep the seed of sweet corn re- 



SOME OF THE COMMON VEGETABLES 179 

quires extra care. When the ears have ripened as much as 
they will on the stalk, bunches of three or four ears can be 
hung up in airy rooms to dry out further. They should be 
protected from a temperature much below freezing. 

Asparagus is a native of Europe. It is very hardy and 
when once set it will produce a crop for many years. It will 
grow on any good soil not too wet. Manuring with well- 
rotted manure will pay well. The plants may be raised from 
seed sown in spring, but it is a saving of time to buy roots 
already started. The plants should be set about six inches 
deep and three or more feet apart. Transplanting should be 
done during the spring months. In the autumn the canes 
can be cut down and the land worked over three or four 
inches deep. It can be cultivated again in the spring. No 
shoots should be cut until the second spring after setting, and 
it is better to wait until the third. Shoots are cut when they 
are about four to six inches above ground and they are usually 
cut about two inches below the surface. Care must be taken 
not to cut off shoots which have not come through the ground. 
Cuttings may be made every few days until the middle of 
June. After cutting has stopped, the ground should be culti- 
vated without regard to the rows and a good coat of rotted 
manure worked in. This puts the bed in shape for next 
spring, except that all old canes should be cut down and re- 
moved late in the autumn. 

Celenj is a European plant which has been introduced 
into this country and is raised for its leaf stems. The seed is 
sown in spring in small boxes. When the plants are a couple 
of inches high they are transplanted to larger boxes and set 
about two inches apart. They are set in the field about June, 
in rows three feet apart, and six inches apart in the row. For 



180 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

family use they may be set closer. To get the stems bleached 
white it is necessary to keep the leaves upright and banked 
up with soil. Some varieties are self-bleaching without being 
banked up, but their flavor is improved by banking up. 

Celery is stored for winter use or market by packing up- 
right in boxes in which there are a few inches of moist sand 
on the bottom for the roots to stand in. 

Celeriac is a kind of celery which produces an enlargement 
at the base of the plants like a turnip. This is the part eaten. 

Rhubarb is probably a native of Asia. It may be grown 
from seed, but it is a saving of time to get roots already 
started. There should be one or more good buds to each root. 
These are set in the autumn in soil made rich with well-rotted 
manure or compost. There is no danger of getting the soil 
too rich. Plants should be set about three or four feet apart. 
The third spring the plants will come into full bearing and 
as many leaf -stalks can be pulled as desired. The seed 
stems should be kept cut down. After the ground has fro- 
zen a covering of manure should be put over the plants. In 
the spring this can be worked into the ground or left for a 
mulch. 



CHAPTER XXV 
III. LANDSCAPE GARDENING 

By landscape gardening is meant the preparing, laying out, 
and planting of ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers in 
parks, cemeteries, public squares, school grounds, lawns, and 
dooryards. What we shall say here will have special refer- 
ence to lawns and dooryards. 

The farmer and the villager very often neglect the planting 
of trees, shrubs, and flowers, considering it a thing not worth 
while, yet every one is delighted with a house surrounded 
by trees, vines, bushes, and flowers properly arranged. Many 
lawns are not pleasing because the planting has been done 
without any thought of its effect. 

The first thing to be done in decorating grounds is to pre- 
pare the soil for the lawn and the things that are to be planted. 
In the first place it should be drained. Unless the subsoil is 
sandy or gravelly, under-drainage is very desirable for the 
reasons mentioned in Chapter V. The land should be deeply 
plowed and heavily manured. It is important to have plenty 
of humus in the soil. Professor Troop, of Purdue University, 
gives the following instructions for the making of a lawn: 
''Have deep, rich soil, thoroughly plowed and subsoiled, 
at least fifteen inches deep. Harrow down and replow 
across the first plowing. Harrow down again and plow 
once more and level off. Such preparation will give an 

181 



182 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



even surface when the land settles. Mix two bushels of blue 
grass seed and one bushel of red top together and sow at the 
rate of three to four bushels per acre. Sow by hand and rake 
in with a rake. Mow early and often, at least once a week. 
Top-dress late in fall with good well-rotted manure, or com- 
mercial fertihzers." 

When the lawn has been started attention can be given to 




AN ATTRACTIVE COUNTRY RESIDENCE 



Many homes could be made attractive by the planting of flowers, 
shrubs, and trees 

the laying out of the grounds. Walks and driveways should 
be first laid out. For small yards there should be no drive- 
way, unless absolutely necessary. Better to be slightly incon- 
venienced than to have a driveway used only seldom. There 
should be as few walks as possible and they should not have 
needless curves in them. If fences are necessary they should 
be inconspicuous. 

When planning for the planting of the trees and shrubbery, 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING 183 

bear in mind that the house is the centre of the landscape 
and that the view to or from it should be obstructed as little 
as possible. It is desirable to have the lawn directly in front 
of the house perfectly open, except for a flower bed or two 
of low-growing plants. Trees, shrubs, and tall-growing flow- 
ers are to be planted to the side and back of the lawn. Un- 
desirable views are to be hidden by clumps of shrubbery. 
The driveway and fence should be hidden by vines and 
tall-growing flowers. Attractive views in the neighborhood 
are to be made as available as possible. 

In planting it is desirable to mass plants together rather 
than to have them standing singly. Many kinds together 
give variety and a pleasing appearance. The appear- 
ance is improved if they are set rather hap-hazard. They 
then appear to have grown up naturally. Professor Bailey of 
Cornell University, says: *'When planting, do not aim at 
designs or effects; just have lots of flowers, a variety of them, 
growing luxuriantly, as if they could not help it." * For small 
grounds very few trees should be used and these should be so 
placed as to be of most service as shade and not hinder views. 
Evergreens should be set so as to screen undesired views. 
Their lower limbs should never be pruned, nor should they 
be sheared into fanciful forms, if a natural landscape is de- 
sired. Shrubs and vines are used as backgrounds for low- 
growing flowers. A large shrub or rose bush at the corner of 
the house has a good effect. The lawn should not be cut up 
by numerous flower beds. Unless it is quite large one or two 
beds carefully placed is all that will look well in a lawn. It is 
better to plant flowers along the edge of the shrubbery, 
around the house, and bordering the driveway and fences. 
* Garden Making. 



184 AGKICULTUKE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

A.mcial rounds in the lawn ^^^^^^^^ ^^^ 
are planted so as to bulge out ^^ -e plj^c^^^^^ P ^ ^^^ 

another with irregular or ragged edges they w 
effect of making the grounds seem larger. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

PLANTS THAT MAY BE USED 

There are many plants that are useful for decorative pur- 
poses. One should choose such as are easily obtained and 
inexpensive. Oddities are usually out of place in small 
grounds. The forest, thicket, river and creek bank, old fence 
rows, and other neglected places will furnish the best trees, 
shrubs, and wild flowers. One can well take a lesson from 
Nature's method of planting and beautifying landscapes. 
Wild plants should usually be moved in the autumn. Seeds 
of wild flowers can be sown in the autumn or during the winter. 

Of the trees, the common forest trees are quite appropriate 
and, as a rule, are easily transplanted. For small grounds 
those which grow slowly and do not grow too tall are best. 
Elm, sugar, and soft maples, oaks, bass-wood, ash, coffee nut, 
birch, buckeye, and many others may be used. The Norway 
maple, cut-leaved weeping maple, cut-leaved weeping birch, 
and Kilmarnock weeping willow may be obtained from nur- 
series. Arbor vitse, the spruces and pines, cedar, fir, and 
juniper are evergreens that grow easily and are quite effective 
as screens. Evergreens in large number^ should not be used. 

Of the shrubs that may be used the following are some of 

the best: the wild thorn or red haw, red bud, wild crab-apple, 

iron-wood, wild rose, and wild laurel. From the nurseries 

the following may be obtained: lilac, snowball, spirea, rose, 

barberry, and fragrant currant. Clematis, grape, trumpet- 

185 



186 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

creeper, Virginia creeper, honeysuckle, wistaria, hop, scarlet 
runner, and others are good vines for covering fences, porches, 
and outbuildings. Wild flowers like the golden-rod, aster, 
sunflower, and flag look well when planted along the edges 
and among shrubs from the forest. 

There are many cultivated flowers that can be used for 
flower beds and borders. Some of these require special 
preparation of the soil, but for most of them it is necessary 
only that the soil be rich and deeply prepared and that the 
roots or seeds be properly planted. We may divide these 
plants into those which grow from bulbs or tubers and those 
which come from seeds. The bulbs and tubers are of two 
kinds: those planted in autumn and those planted in spring. 

The common fall-planted bulbs are tulip, crocus, jonquil, 
daffodil, hyacinth, lily, and lily-of-the-valley. There are 
many varieties of most of these and one can choose what 
pleases the fancy and will suit the conditions. There are 
said to be over two hundred varieties of hyacinths alone. 
Crocuses are frequently planted in the grass in the lawn, mak- 
ing a beautiful sight when they bloom early in the spring. 
Crocuses, daffodils, and jonquils should be planted in Sep- 
tember or early October; the others may be planted in Octo- 
ber and early November. Crocuses and tulips should be 
covered about three inches deep, jonquils and hyacinths about 
four or five inches, and daffodils and lilies about six inches. 
It is well to cover most of them with a light covering of manure 
or straw after the ground freezes and remove it early in spring. 

The lilies and lilies-of-the-valley may remain where they are 
set for several years, but hyacinths and tulips are better taken 
up each year and reset. The crocuses may stand two years 
or longer. The daffodils and jonquils are best reset about 



J 



PLANTS THAT MAY BE USED 187 

every four years. All of these flowers increase by producing 
new bulbs around the old ones, and if they were not reset 
they would soon become so crowded as not to flower well. 
The lifting of the roots is done after the plants are through 
flowering and the leaves have begun to turn yellow. 

The dahlia and gladiolus are the common spring-planted 
roots. The dahlia may be started in boxes before time to set 
out in the open. Usually the cluster of tubers is divided and 
a single tuber with a bud is set by itself. Barely moist earth 
and a rather low temperature are best for starting sturdy 
plants. After danger of frost is past the plants may be set 
out in the beds where they are to grow. They will grow rap- 
idly and bloom early. Roots which have not been started 
may be set out for late blooming as soon as danger of frost is 
past. The roots may stay in the ground in the autumn till 
after frost has killed the tops. They should be dug before 
the ground freezes, the moisture dried off, and stored in a cool, 
dry place. 

Gladiolus grows best in sandy loam soil, but can be pro- 
duced satisfactorily under almost any conditions. The bulb 
of gladiolus is not a true bulb, but is what is called a corm. 
It differs from a bulb in not being made up of layers. These 
corms are planted about two or three inches deep. The 
planting may begin early in spring and be continued at inter- 
vals until the last of June. This will give a succession of 
blossoms. The gladiolus increases by means of small corms 
formed at the base of the old one. These little corms should 
be saved and planted the next spring. In two years they will 
produce flowers. The gladiolus corms are lifted in the autumn, 
after frosts have killed the tops, and are stored away in a 
cool, dry cellar. 



188 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

Besides these cultivated tubers and bulbs there are many 
wild flowers that grow from under-ground parts which can 
be easily transplanted to the borders and flower beds. Most 
of them like shade and a soil rich in rotten leaves. One should 
study their native homes and try to give them somewhat the 
same conditions in the lawn. Some of the more common of 
these plants are spring beauty, trilliums, bloodroot, dog- 
tooth violet or adder's-tongue, lilies, and wild flags. The last 
should be planted in wet places by the well or cistern. 

The list of flowers that may be produced from seeds sown 
in the spring or autumn is very long. A few of the common 
ones are aster, zinnia, marigold, holly-hock, larkspur, touch- 
me-not, pansy, sweet pea, sweet-william, verbena, four 
o'clock, phlox, salvia, nasturtium, and pink. Directions for 
growing these plants are usually given on the package in 
which the seed is purchased. The only direction necessary is 
to have rich soil well prepared and a little attention given not 
to crowd slow-growing, tender sorts with rapid-growing, 
sturdy ones. 

There are also a number of hardy plants which, when once 
set, bloom from year to year without much attention, more 
than working in some rotted manure in the autumn and cov- 
ering them with a light covering of coarse litter for winter 
protection. Such plants are peony, bleeding-heart, chrysan- 
themum, and columbine. 



CHAPTER XXVII 
INSECTS— INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL 

Much damage is done our field, garden, and orchard crops 
every year by insects. It is estimated that more than three 
hundred milHon dollars' worth of crops is destroyed every 
year by them. However, we must not condemn all insects, 
for all are not injurious. Some are quite useful and we do 
ourselves injury when we kill them. 

The life of an insect is very interesting and may be divided 
into four stages. The first is the egg state. Every insect is 
developed from an Qgg\ though under certain conditions 
plant-lice and some scale insects are born alive. The second 
stage is the larval or worm stage. After the egg hatches, the 
insect exists for some time as a worm, eating the foliage or 
roots or sucking the juices of the plant. During the time that 
it is a worm, the insect grows larger and larger, and to accom- 
modate its increased size it changes its skin one or more 
times. The third stage is the resting stage. This is also 
called the pupa or chrysalis stage. Some insects do not stay 
in this stage very long, others do for several months. Every 
one has seen the silken cocoons that some insects weave 
around themselves when they go into the resting stage. 
Many insects do not make a cocoon, but their skin hardens 
and they rest quietly in that form for a time. When the insect 

comes out of its cocoon, or hard case, it is quite different in 

189 



190 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

appearance from the worm which it was before. It may be 
a beetle, a fly, a honey-bee, or a beautiful butterfly. This 
stage is called the advlt or imago stage. Some insects, like the 
grasshoppers and the squash-bugs, do not go through these 
four changes very completely, but in every insect the four 
stages are more or less clearly marked. Insects usually do 
the most harm in the second, or larval, stage of their lives. 

There are thousands of kinds of insects. The farmer and 
fruit-grower is interested in many of them, for some injure his 
crops, while others are useful to him. We can mention here 
only a few which must serve as examples for all. 

1. Plant-Lice. — These are to be found on all kinds of 
plants, more often on trees and bushes. They are usually 
quite small, greenish-colored, and soft-bodied. They suck 
the juices of plants. The leaves wrinkle or curl up and hide 
the lice inside. Plant-lice have a little projection on the back 
part of their body from which honeydew is exuded. If there 
are ants around one can see the ant go up to the louse and 
stroke it on the back with its antennae. The plant-louse gives 
up a drop of honeydew and the ant eats it. For such accom- 
modation the ants care for some kinds of plant-lice by taking 
them into the ground and protecting them over winter. Plant- 
lice on the roots of corn are placed there by the ants. So if 
there are many ants running around the plants of corn we may 
be sure that there will be some lice on the corn roots. Plant- 
lice usually pass the winter in the Qgg stage and hatch early 
in spring, and there are several broods during the summer. 

2. Scale Insects. — There are many kinds of these, the 
worst of which is the San Jose scale. Scale insects are flat 
and scale-like in appearance and are usually covered with a 
hard, crust-like covering. They are nearly always found on 



INSECTS — INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL 



191 



trees and bushes. In color they are sometimes white, but 

more often dark-colored like the bark on which they rest. 

Like the plant-lice, they suck the juices of plants, but ants do 

not care for them. 

Some kinds pass 

the winter as 

adult insects and 

other kinds live 

through in the 

egg stage. 

3. Cutworms. 
— These insects 
do the farmers 
and gardeners 
much damage 
every year. The 
damage is usual- 
ly greatest on sod 
land plowed in 
the spring. The 
cutworm is a 
dark-colored worm, usually some shade of gray, with faint 
stripes running lengthwise of the body. The body is soft and 
easily crushed. The adult form of the cutworm is a moth. A 
moth looks like a butterfly, but it is not so brilliantly colored 
and flies at night instead of by day as the butterflies do. 
Moths are attracted into our rooms at night in the summer- 
time by the lights. The cutworm moth lays its eggs on the 
stems and blades of grass or clover in the summer. When the 
eggs hatch the larvse go to the roots of the plant and become 
partly grown before cold weather. They remain in the ground 




7,^. SAN JOSE SCALE ON BARK (MUCH ENLARGED) 
Notice the peculiar shell-like covering of the insect. 
One must use a magnifying glass to identify the scale 
By courtesy of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station 



192 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

all winter and in spring begin to eat everything within reach. 
In orchards some kinds of cutworms crawl up the trunks of 
trees and cut off the young shoots. The cutworm cuts off the 
corn or garden plants just above the surface of the ground. 
If sod is plowed early in the fall the moths have to find other 
places to lay their eggs, so that not many will be found in the 
field next spring. Late plowing disturbs the winter bed of 
the larvae and causes many to be killed by the cold. 

4. Hessian Fly. — This is a very small fly, like what is 
usually called a gnat. The eggs are laid on the upper surfaces 
of the lower leaves of wheat or other grass-like plants. As 
soon as hatched the larva slips down inside of the sheath and 
begins to absorb the juice of the plant. The larva is a maggot 
and cannot chew the plant but absorbs its juices. At first it 
is white but when it is full grown it is brown. Eggs are laid 
in the fall and in the spring, so that there are two broods 
each year. Adult flies come from the larvae in the spring. 
These at once lay eggs for the summer brood which comes 
forth late in the summer, ready to lay eggs on the fall-sown 
wheat. 

5. Codling-Moth. — This moth lays the egg that makes the 
worm which we find in apples in the summer-time. The egg 
is laid at the blossom end of the apple just as the blossoms drop 
off in spring. The egg soon hatches, the worm eats outside 
a couple of days, then works into the apple and eats around 
the core until it is full grown. It then comes out and finds 
a hiding-place under the bark, spins a cocoon, and rests until 
next spring when it hatches out as a moth again. In most 
places there are two broods. The first larvae change to moths 
early in summer, and these moths lay eggs on the green apples, 
generally where two apples touch each other. 



I 



INSECTS — INJUKIOUS AND BENEFICIAL 



193 



6. Plum Curculio. — The plum curculio is a beetle, that is, 
an insect with a set of shell-like wings covering its true wings. 
The curculio head and mouth parts are prolonged into a 
proboscis. The curculio lays its eggs on plums, cherries, 
peaches, apricots, pears, and apples. The beetle itself feeds 



% 






34. A CURCULIO CATCHER 

The insects are jarred on to the sheet and then swept into a bucket and killed 

By courtesy of the New York (Cornell) Experiment Station 

on the foliage of these trees, and when the fruit is about the 
size of a marble it makes a crescent-shaped slit in the skin, 
raises the flap, and puts an egg under it. This soon hatches 
and the larva bores down to the seed of the fruit. This 
causes the plums, peaches, apricots, and cherries to fall off 
and rot. The larva develops in the rotten fruit, comes out 
and hides away until next spring. Those in the apples and 
pears cannot develop unless the fruit falls off from some other 
cause. If there are hogs and sheep in the orchard to eat up the 



INSECTS — INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL 195 

fallen fruit most of the insects are killed. There are many 
kinds of curculio which attack other plants, but none are so 
injurious as the plum curculio. Jarring the curculios from 
the tree upon sheets very early in the morning is a good way 
to keep them in check. Poultry in the plum orchard will 
catch many of them. 

7. Borers. — There are many species of insects which bore 
into the trunks of trees, the stems of bushes, and the roots of 
non-woody plants. Some of the worst of these are the peach- 
borer, fruit-bark beetle, bill-bug, blackberry borer, currant 
borer, and strawberry root-borer. In most cases the eggs 
are laid on the stem, and after hatching the larvae bore into 
the stem or under the bark, causing the plant to wilt and 
die. 

8. Beetles. — Many species of beetles are beneficial; among 
them are most of the black beetles which run about on the 
ground. These beetles and their larvae feed on cutworms and 
other larvae which injure the roots of plants. The lady-bird 
beetles destroy large numbers of plant-lice. They are small, 
hemispherical beetles, usually some shade of brown in color, 
with spots on their wing covers. The larvae of the lady-bird 
beetles are small, ugly, black, spiny worms, but they destroy 
plant-lice. 

Among the injurious beetles are the 'potato-beetles. There 
are two kinds of these which do the most damage. One is the 
"Colorado potato-bug," and the other is a blister-beetle usu- 
ally called the "old-fashioned potato-bug." The eggs of the 
"Colorado potato-bug" are laid on the under side of the leaf 
early in spring. The eggs soon hatch, the young grow vigor- 
ously and are soon full grown. This first brood now lays eggs 
for a second brood which becomes full grown and passes the 



196 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

winter hidden away in the ground or under trash ready for 
the next year's potato crop. The eggs of the ''old-fashioned 
potato-bug" are laid in the ground, and while young the 
larvae feed on the eggs of the grasshopper, which are laid in 
the ground also. These larvse do not become adults until the 
second year, when, as adults, they do much damage to potato 
vines. 

Many of the borers are beetles, especially those that work 
in forest trees. One of the most troublesome of the borers is 
the fruit-bark beetle which makes little channels in the sap 
wood just under the bark of fruit trees. The rose-chafer does 
great damage in some places to vineyards, orchards, and gar- 
dens by eating the blossoms. The eggs are laid in the grass 
and the larvae feed on the roots of grass and other plants. In 
spring the adults appear and attack the blossoms of any 
kind of fruit. 

One other beetle which we must mention is the ''May- 
beetle" or "June-bug" or "cock-chafer." It is the large 
beetle which flies in at windows and doors at night in the 
spring. There are several species of these, but all look alike 
unless one is making a careful study. The eggs are laid in 
grass-land and the larvse feed on the grass roots. They are 
what we call "grub-worms," and when the sod is put to corn 
they often do much damage by eating the roots. Some species 
live in the ground for two or more years before changing to 
the adult stage. The adults often do damage by eating the 
foliage of trees and bushes. 

9. Caterpillars. — There are several familiar examples of 
these insects. One is the tent-caterpillar, which spins the 
large white web so often seen in orchards and works inside 
it; another is the fall web- worm, which also spins a web and 



INSECTS — INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL 197 

works inside it, but which does not become noticeable until 
the summer months ; still another is the yellow-necked cater- 
pillar, which feeds on the apple foliage. There are other 
species, much like the yellow-neck, which feed in great num- 
bers on walnut, hickory, and other trees. Finally, there is the 
green cabbage-worm. The adult from all caterpillars is 
either a moth or a butterfly. 

The eggs of the tent-caterpillar and of the fall web-worm 
are laid in masses on the trees. The larvae feed greedily on 
the leaves and when full grown they drop to the ground and 
change to the chrysalis form. The tent-caterpillar changes 
to the adult stage before cold weather and lays its eggs for 
next year in a compact mass completely encircling a twig. 
The second brood of the fall web-worm does not change to 
the adult form until spring. 

The yellow-necked caterpillar and its close relatives hatch 
from eggs laid on the leaves. The young feed together 
until they are nearly grown, when they begin to scatter over 
the tree. They change to the pupa stage in the ground and 
remain there until spring. One can see the moulting habit 
in this insect better than in almost any other. When they are 
ready to change their skins they travel down to the trunk of 
the tree and gather in a large mass. In about a day they slip 
out of the old skin and travel back to their feeding-place. 
However, they take a new place each time. They shed 
their skins three or f«our times, each time leaving the mass of 
empty skins hanging on the body of the tree. 

The beautiful white butterfly which lays the eggs for the cab- 
bage-worm is known by every one. The eggs are laid singly 
on the under side of the cabbage leaf. When the larvae are 
ready to pupate they enclose themselves in a papery cocoon, 



198 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

fastened under the weather-boarding of a house or any other 
projecting ledge. 

10. Chinch-Bug. — This is one of the most destructive in- 
sects that attacks farm crops. It is a true bug. All true hugs 
have their mouth parts prolonged into a sharp beak with 
which they puncture the skin or bark of the plant and suck 
the juices instead of chewing the foliage or stem. The chinch- 
bug hibernates over winter, hiding anywhere that it can find 
protection in trash or stubble. Early in spring it lays its eggs 
on the stems or roots of grass or wheat near the surface. By 
the middle of summer the young are full grown. They then 
begin to travel from one field to another. As soon as wheat is 
ripe they go into the oats or corn. They are difficult to con- 
trol. All trash should be cleaned up so they will not have 
good places to hibernate. When they begin to travel a trench 
made around the field into which they are moving and made 
dusty by dragging a log in it will hinder them, as they cannot 
climb up the dusty sides. Straw scattered in the trench and 
burned will kill those thus trapped. 

11. Parasitic Insects. — By parasitic insects are meant 
those insects which lay their eggs in the bodies of other insects. 
When the eggs hatch the larvse live in the body of the attacked 
insect and feed upon it. By the time the larvae are full grown 
the insect is dead. In almost every case the parasitic inserts 
are beneficial. 

One of these parasitic insects attacks the tomato and to- 
bacco-worm. -When it is full grown it spins a small white 
cocoon on the back of the worm. Every one has seen the 
large tomato-worm with a dozen or more of these white co- 
coons on its back. The Hessian fly is also attacked by an- 
other small fly which destroys it. There are many kinds of 



INSECTS — INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL 199 

parasitic insects which attack many other kinds of insects. 
They are one of Nature's means for holding insect pests in 
check. 

There are a few parasites which are decidedly troublesome 
to the farmer. These are the lice and ticks which live on all 
kinds of live-stock and occasionally even on man. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

CONTROLLING INSECTS 

It is almost impossible to exterminate completely any kind 
of insect, so that our fight against them must be with the in- 
tention of holding them in check. There are four principal 
methods of doing this. Two of them are Nature's ways and 
two are means devised by man. 

1. Parasitic Enemies. — As was just mentioned in the last 
chapter, there are many insects which get all their subsistence 
from other insects. It is often noticed that the Hessian fly is 
quite troublesome for two or three years and then is not seen 
again for several years. This is due to the attack of its para- 
site which increases in such numbers that nearly all the Hes- 
sian flies are killed. Then the parasite, having nothing to 
live on, dies off and the Hessian fly has a chance to increase 
again. In a similar way many other insects are held in 
check. Besides the parasitic insects there are those like the 
lady-bird beetle and many others which attack and destroy 
destructive insects. 

2. Birds, Snakes, and Toads. — Some of Nature's most 
effective agents in destroying insects are not fully appreciated 
by man. Almost every kind of bird destroys some insects, 
and a majority of our land birds live almost entirely on in- 
sects, especially during the growing season. Certainly every 
one has seen the robins, chipping sparrows, bluebirds, black- 

200 



CONTROLLING INSECTS 



.201 




birds, song-sparrows, and wrens gathering insects for their 
young. The woodpeckers, nuthatches, and brown creepers 
search up and down the trees for the eggs and young of in- 
sects destructive to trees and peck holes through the bark to 
dig out borers. The vireos, orioles, and warblers search the 
foliage for worms and destroy 
countless numbers. The cuckoo, 
or raincrow, destroys the tents of 
the tent-caterpillar; the catbird, 
brown thrasher, and thrushes get 
insects from the ground and from 
the trees. No more useful insect- 
destroyers are to be found than 
the quail and the meadow lark, 
yet farmers often allow these 
birds to be killed by sportsmen. 
It would take an entire book 
alone to tell all the useful habits of our common birds. Each 
needs to be studied carefully and protected. 

Snakes are unpleasant animals, but nearly all of them are 
destroyers of large numbers of insects. The garter-snakes 
and blue racers are most common and most effective. How- 
ever, they destroy many toads, and the toad is probably more 
effective than the snake and much more pleasant. 

Toads live entirely on insects and catch great numbers of 
them. It has been estimated that a single toad is worth nearly 
twenty dollars a season in a field or garden. It is said that Eng- 
lish gardeners often pay twenty-five dollars a hundred for toads 
to put into their gardens.* They will eat practically any kind 
of insect. They are said to be a sure remedy for cockroaches. 
* Farmers' Bulletin, No. 196. 



36. A PARASITIC INSECT 

This one destroys tree borers 

By courtesy of the Indiana 

Experiment Station 



202 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

Toads lay their eggs in the water just as frogs do. Every 
one should become interested in toads and protect them. 
There is no truth in the statement that handling toads will 
produce warts on the hands. 

3. Cultivation. — Cultivation is one of the methods that 
man has learned to use for combating insects. The rotation 
of crops, as mentioned in Chapter XVI, is very effective in 
holding in check certain.kinds of insects. When the particular 
plant upon which an insect feeds is not planted in the same 
field each year, it finds it difficult to travel after its food and 
often perishes. Farmers who practice rotation of crops 
rarely have much trouble with the corn-root louse, Hessian 
fly, chinch-bug, and many other insects. One of the best 
means of preventing damage from the Hessian fly is to sow a 
narrow strip of wheat around the field several weeks before 
the main crop is to be sowed. The fly will gather in this 
strip and lay all its eggs on the early wheat. Just before 
sowing the main crop the narrow strip should be plowed 
under and the land harrowed down. The larvae in the young 
wheat are not old enough to live over the winter without more 
fresh food, and so all perish. 

4. Spraying. — In spraying plants to keep off insects it 
should always be kept in mind that some insects destroy the 
plant by chewing the foliage or stem, while others pierce the 
skin or bark with their sharp mouth parts and suck out the 
juices, causing the plant to wilt and die. For those insects 
which chew their food a poison is applied to their food, but 
for those which suck the juices of the plants such application 
does no good, and the remedy applied must be one that will 
kill the insect by contact. In the first class we have all the 
beetles, caterpillars, and grasshoppers; in the second, the 



CONTROLLING INSECTS 



203 




plant-lice, scale insects, and true bugs, like the chinch-bug 
and squash-bug. 

There are two ways of applying poisons : one in the form 
of a fine spray of water, and the other as a dust of dry powder. 
For trees and 
bushes and for 
large areas the 
spray is always 
used. We cannot 
mention all the 
various sprays 
used, but the fol- 
lowing are a few 
of the common 
ones : 

1. Paris Green 
is one of the most 
widely used poi- 
sons. It is used 

at the rate of one pound to 150 to 200 gallons of water, or 
for small quantities about a half-teaspoonful to a gallon of 
water. It should be thoroughly stirred before using. It is 
well to add a little lime, as lime keeps the Paris green from 
burning the leaves when the sun is hot. Paris green will kill 
all insects that chew the foliage. 

2. London Purple is used exactly as Paris green. It gener- 
ally sticks to the foliage longer than Paris green. 

3. White Hellebore is usually dusted on to kill insects. 
When used as a spray an ounce to three gallons of water is 
about right. White hellebore is used mainly for currant- 
worms on currant and gooseberry bushes. 



37a. RESULTS OF SPRAYING 

The crop of one tree. The large pile is good fruit ; 
the small pile poor. 

By courtesy of the Ohio Experiment Station 



204 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



4. Pyrethrum is dusted on when the leaves are damp or 
may be used as a spray at the rate of an ounce to two gallons 

of water. When 
not in use the 
powder should 
be kept in an air- 
tight can. This 
powder will kill 
currant - worms, 
cabbage - worms, 
and many others. 
5. Whale - oil 
Soap is a good 
remedy for San 
Jose and other 
scales. It is used 
at the rate of two 
pounds of soap 
to one gallon of 
water. The soap 
should be thor- 
oughly dissolved 




RESULTS OF NOT SPRAYING 



The crop of one tree. The piles of good and poor fruit 
are about equal in this case. 

By courtesy of the Ohio Experiment Station 

and applied as a fine spray. It kills by contact. 

6. Kerosene Emulsion is widely used for soft-bodied insects 
like plant-lice and many kinds of scales, as well as hard- 
bodied insects. It is made by dissolving a half-pound of hard 
soap in one gallon of water (soft water is best). While still 
hot, two gallons of kerosene should be added and thoroughly 
churned with a force-pump, or stirred with a stick, until the 
mass is like cream. It will take several minutes to do the 
mixing right. If small quantities are wanted the above 



CONTROLLING INSECTS 



205 



amounts may be divided. When wanted for use, the emul- 
sion is diluted by taking one part of emulsion to ten parts of 
water for hard-bodied insects, or one part to fifteen of water 
for soft-bodied ones. It should be applied with a very fine 
spray. Kerosene emulsion kills by contact. 

Poisons are applied by various kinds of apparatus. For 
large operations, as in orchards, spray-pumps operated by 




38. A POWER SPRAYER USED IN THE ORCHARD AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 



compressed air are used. Spray-pumps operated by hand 
are much used. For spraying potatoes and sugar beets a bar- 
rel is mounted on a truck and the contents are forced out of 
nozzles attached to a frame behind the truck. For gardens 
and flower beds a garden spray-pump can be used, and even 
a sprinkling-can is useful for small operations. For applying 
dry powders various kinds of bellows are used. 

The time of spraying is important. It is often done too 
late. Usually spraying should not be done when plants are 



206 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

in blossom, for in so doing many useful insects which aid in 
pollenizing the blossoms will be killed. As soon as the blos- 
soms drop, all tree fruits should be sprayed. This will catch 
the codling-moth on apples. Potatoes should be sprayed as 
soon as they are a few inches high. Since rains usually wash 
off the sprays, spraying should be done several times during 
a season. Then, too, some substances lose their effectiveness 
after being exposed for a time. 

All experiment stations publish bulletins about insects and 
spraying. These can always be had free for the asking. 



CHAPTER XXIX 
PLANT DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT 

There are many diseases which attack the farmer's crops 
and fruits. They are often quite injurious and cut down the 
yield very much, and sometimes completely destroy the crops. 
For some of these diseases no remedy has been discovered as 
yet, while for many of them we know what to do, and when 
properly handled they cause little injury. We shall speak 
of only a few of the common plant diseases. 

1. Smuts. — The oat smut is one of the most common. It 
shows itself when the oats begin to head out. The heads 
turn black and become a mass of black or brownish dust. 
This dust is the seed of the smut and is called the spores. 
When the ripe oats are cut these blasted heads are also gath- 
ered into the bundles, and when threshed some of these spores 
get mixed with the oats. Next spring when oats are sowed 
some of these spores go into the ground and, sprouting, grow 
into the tissues of the plant until heading time when they 
show in the blackened head. Oat smut can be controlled by 
spraying the seed oats until they are damp with formalin at 
the rate of one pound of formalin to fifty gallons of water.* 
The formalin should be full forty per cent, solution of formal- 
dehyde. The oats should be piled in a heap and covered for a 
half-hour or more and then spread out to dry. 

* Farmers' Bulletin, 250. 
207 



208 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

There is a similar loose smut which attacks wheat and 
barley, but no effective remedy is known for it. Wheat is 
often attacked by a smut which makes the inside of the grain 
a mass of black powder or spores. The kernel when broken 
open has a bad odor. This is known as stinking smut. It 
can be controlled by treating the seed wheat with formalin 
the same as for oat smut. We often see large black masses 
attached to corn plants. This is corn smut. No sure remedy 
is known for it. It is best to collect all such masses and burn 
them on the trash pile. 

2. Rusts. — There are many kinds of rusts and they are to 
be found on nearly all species of plants. One of the most 
common is the wheat rust. Wheat rust is of two kinds. The 
kind that makes the reddish spots on the leaves is called 
orange-leaf rust. The kind that forms blackish blotches on 
the stem is known as black-stem rust. No remedy is known. 
The same rusts attack oats and barley, but rarely rye. 

Growers of blackberries, raspberries, and dewberries often 
have their plants attacked by a rust known as anthracnose. 
It appears as gray patches with distinct purple borders on the 
lower part of the stems and soon causes them to wilt and die. 
The best remedy is to cut out and burn all diseased stems. 
Spraying with copper sulphate solution before the buds open 
and with Bordeaux mixture afterward is helpful. 

3. Blights. — A disease which causes the leaves of a plant 
to wither and die without any very easily discovered cause is 
usually called a blight. Pears and quinces are often attacked 
by leaf -blight, which causes the leaves to die and fall to the 
ground. The twigs appear black and dead and the fruit be- 
comes hard and knotty. This blight can be controlled by 
spraying with Bordeaux mixture several times during the 



PLANT DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT 209 

spring months, beginning as soon as the first leaves are 
opened. 

There is another leaf-blight which attacks pears, quinces, 
and apples and makes the leaves look as if they had been 
scorched by fire. The leaves do not fall off as in the case of 
the other leaf -blight. This blight is called fire-blight or twig- 
blight. There is no remedy but to cut out the affected twigs 
and burn them. 

Another serious disease which may be called a blight is the 
black knot of plum and cherry trees. The twigs and limbs 
swell at various points, becoming larger than the surrounding 
parts. The swellings become very black by winter. The 
next spring the swellings continue to increase at their edges 
until the twig or limb dies. There is no effective remedy. 
Cutting off the attacked limbs some distance from the swelling 
is probably best. Painting the knots with kerosene is also 
helpful. Spraying with Bordeaux mixture will tend to pre- 
vent the starting of new swellings. 

Potatoes are attacked by two bad blights. One is the early 
blight and the other is the late blight. The early blight ap- 
pears as circular yellow spots near the edges of the leaves. 
As time goes on, the spots increase in size, become brown in 
color, the leaves roll up, the stems become affected, and the 
plant dies. Dry weather seems to be favorable to this disease. 
This blight is not fully understood yet, but spraying with 
Bordeaux mixture has been beneficial. The late blight is 
helped by warm, moist weather and soon destroys a potato 
plant. This blight appears as irregular-shaped brown spots 
anywhere on the leaves and spreads rapidly, soon killing the 
plants. In the case of this blight the potatoes in the ground 
also rot. This blight usually appears later in the season than 



210 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



the early blight. Thorough spraying with Bordeaux mixture 
will control this disease. Spraying should begin when the 
tops are about six inches tall. 

The leaves of peach-trees sometimes curl up, turn yellow, 
and fall off. Another set of leaves soon comes out again. 
This disease is called leaf curl. It is treated by spraying with 




39. A POTATO SPRAYER FOR BUGS AND BLIGHTS 
This kind is useful in large fields 

copper sulphate solution before the buds open and afterward 
with Bordeaux mixture. 

Peach Yellows is a disease in which the peaches ripen too 
soon and have red streaks in them. The next year the leaves 
come out in tufts and are yellowish in color. The cause is 
not known, nor has any remedy been successful. The disease 
will spread easily and all attacked trees should be cut down 
and burned. 

4. Wilt. — Where flax has been grown for a number of 
years on the same piece of ground without rotation, it usually 



PLANT DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT 211 

becomes diseased. The plants begin to look sickly, wilt, and 
die. This is called flax wilt. It can be controlled by prac- 
ticing a rotation and by spraying the seed until moist with 
formalin at the rate of one pound of formalin to forty-five 
gallons of water. 

Cow-peas grown continuously on the same piece of ground 
are also often attacked by a wilt. It is controlled by rotation 
and planting varieties which are not easily effected by the 
disease. 

5. Rot. — Many plants are attacked by diseases which are 
called "rot." There are several forms of rot and each would 
have to be described separately. Some of the worst forms are 
the bitter rot of apples, two or three kinds of rot which attack 
grapes, and the tomato rot. In a general way these can be 
controlled by the use of Bordeaux mixture, and by picking 
and destroying all fruit beginning to decay. 

6. Scab. — Scab is a disease indicated by rough and knotty 
places on the skins of the fruit. In the case of potato scab, it 
gives the potato the appearance of having been chewed by an 
insect. For the scab on apples and pears it is well to spray 
with Bordeaux mixture several times during the season, begin- 
ning early in spring before the buds open. Potato scab is 
controlled, first, by planting in a new field each year, and, 
secondly, by soaking the tubers in a solution of formalin made 
by using one pound of formalin to thirty gallons of water. 
The potatoes should be soaked two hours in this solution be- 
fore planting. 

Bordeaux Mixture. — This mixture is made as follows: 
Dissolve four pounds of copper sulphate in hot water. Then 
slake four pounds of lime in a separate vessel and add water 
until it is like milk. Strain the lime through a sieve to re- 



212 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

move chunks. Mix the Hme and copper sulphate by pouring 
from each vessel at the same time into a third vessel. It is 
very important to do this in order to get a perfect mixture. 
Stir up this mixture with fifty gallons of water in a coal- 
oil barrel. When it is desired to spray for insects and plant 
diseases at the same time, four ounces of Paris green or Lon- 
don purple can be added to the above quantities. For tender 
plants only one-half of the quantities of lime and copper sul- 
phate should be used. 

Copper Sulphate Solution. — This is made exactly as the 
Bordeaux mixture, except that the lime is left out. It is to be 
used only before the buds begin to swell. 



SECTION IV.— ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 

CHAPTER XXX 
FARM ANIMALS: I. THE HORSE 

By farm animals we mean horses, mules, cattle, sheep, 
goats, swine, and poultry. These animals have been known 
and used by man for many centuries. At first they existed as 
wild animals. As man found use for them he gradually 
tamed and developed them. There are many different kinds 
of each, brought to their present state of development by the 
nature of the climate in which they live, the use to which 
they have been put by man, selection and improvement by 
breeders, and various other causes. 

The Horse. — The discoveries of geologists tell us that 
horses have developed from queer animals which lived ages 
ago. These animals had five toes on each foot and in size 
were about as large as a fox-terrier, but as ages went by 
they were modified by the climatic and food conditions 
until there was developed an animal much like our present 
horse. The splint bones which are often seen on the legs of 
horses are the remains of what were once toes. The color of 
the prehistoric horse is thought to have been striped, some- 
what like the zebra. 

The horse was originally a native of Central Asia. When 
man began to use and breed horses he modified them very 

213 



214 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

much to suit his needs and fancy, and in this way it happens 
that we have so many different breeds. We shall consider a 
few of the more common ones. 

There are two general types of horses; viz., the draft type 
and the harness type. The draft type is a low, heavily built 




40. MARINDAS, (62414) 42696 
A prize winning Percheron imported from France 

horse with strong legs and large feet. His movements are 
comparatively slow and he is adapted to drawing heavy loads. 
The harness type has a smaller body, smaller and longer 
limbs, and smaller feet. He is fitted for rapid movements 
and drawing light loads. The draft type was developed in 
northern Europe from what has been called the Black Horse 



THE HORSE 



215 



of Flanders. The speed type has been developed largely 
from die Arabian horse. 

Draft Types. — 1. The Percherou. — This breed gets its 
name from the province of La Perche, in France, where it was 




41. 



ROYAL PRINCE, FIRST PRIZE THREE- YEAR-OLD CLYDESDALE STALLION 
International Live Stock Show, Chicago, December, 1908 



first developed. The Black Horse of northern Europe seems 
to have been mated to stallions from Arabia. The breed is 
large, active, and strong. The legs have very little long hair 
on them. The Percheron is superior in legs and sound feet. 
Stallions usually weigh 1,750 to 2,200 pounds, and mares 
1,500 to 1,800 pounds. The most common colors are grays 



216 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

and blacks, but bays and browns are sometimes seen. The 
Percheron breed is very popular in the United States, and 
no other draft breed is so largely bred pure. 

There are other breeds of draft-horses brought to America 
in small numbers from France, which are frequently called 
French Draft. This term includes a number of draft types. 
The names Percheron-Norman and Norman are local names 
and are not generally used. They usually refer to the Per- 
cheron breed. 

2. Clydesdale. — This breed originated in Scotland from the 
breeding of the native mares to Black stallions brought from 
Flanders. The Clydesdale horse is noted for his rapid walk 
and long stride. This breed is usually bay or brown with a 
white marking on the forehead or face. The legs are usually 
white up to the knees and hocks, and there is a considerable, 
amount of long hair on the legs. This long hair is called " the 
feather" by horsemen. The nose should be straight, not 
dished nor bulged as is often seen. The back of the Clydesdale 
is somewhat longer than that of other breeds. Stallions usu- 
ally weigh about 2,000 pounds and mares about 1,800 pounds. 
Next to the Percheron the Clydesdale is probably the most 
popular draft-horse raised in America. 

3. The Shire. — The Shire horse is the great draft breed of 
England. In America it is best known in Canada and the 
north central states. It is also popular in large cities for 
heavy draying. This breed doubtless also originated in the 
Black Horse of Flanders, but was developed and improved 
in England. The Shire is exceeded in size by the Belgian 
only. He differs from the Clydesdale in having a shorter 
back, more "feather" on the legs, flatter foot, and a slower 
movement. The foot is so flat as to be sometimes quite ob- 



THE HORSE 217 

jectionable. Shire horses are good-natured and are very 
popular with those who handle them. They are usually 
black, bay, and brown, with white on the face and on the legs 
below the knee and hock. 

4. The Belgian. — In ancient times Belgium was the great- 
est horse-breeding country in the world. In recent times it 
has again begun to attract attention. The Belgian breed is 
not well known in the United States, being confined mainly 
to Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. The Belgian is a very com- 
pact, blocky horse, with broad breast and back, short legs, 
rather small feet, and somewhat slow in action. The legs 
have very little hair on them. In color the breed is sorrel, 
bay, and roan. Those coming from that part of Belgium 
known as Flanders are the largest and heaviest of draft- 
horses. 

5. The Suffolk. — This is often known as Suffolk Punch, a 
name given it because of the round, full body which is charac- 
teristic of the breed. The Suff.olk breed has been bred pure in 
Suffolk County, England, at least as far back as 1768. The 
breed is not so large and heavy as the Clydesdale and Shire, 
but combines great strength with rapid action and is a favorite 
farm horse in England. The established color is chestnut, 
never anything else. There are as yet few Suffolk horses in 
the United States. 

The Harness Type. — This type may be divided into two 
classes: the heavy-harness class and the light-harness class. 
The heavy-harness class combines weight, strength, and rapid 
action. Horses of this class are fitted for carriage and coach 
purposes, as well as being useful for general farm work and 
light hauling. Ordinarily, they are about sixteen hands high 
and weigh from 1,100 to 1,350 pounds. 



218 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

1. The French Coach. — This breed comes from that part of 
France known as Normandy, where it has been bred for many 
years. Animals of this breed have long bodies, long and arch- 
ing necks, and a long, powerful stride and high knee action. 
The French speed their horses on sod, because they believe 
that travelling over such a track will develop the kind of action 
most desirable in a carriage horse. The color of the breed is 
sorrel, bay, and brown, in varying shades. This breed is 
widely distributed in the United States, but the total number 
is not large. 

2. The .German Coach. — This breed consists of several 
types, depending on the section of Germany from which they 
come, such as the Hanoverian, Oldenburg, and East Friesland 
horses. The Oldenburg is the heaviest type and the one 
most commonly imported to America. The color of the 
German Coach is always a bay, brown, or black. The body 
is heavier than that of the French Coacher. The German 
Coach horse nearly always has good feet. The breed is from 
sixteen to sixteen and a half hands high and weighs from 
1,350 to 1450 pounds. There are very few pure-bred French 
Coach and German Coach horses raised in the United States; 
nearly all are imported. 

3. The Hachiey. — Hackney is a term formerly applied to 
a class of horses used for drawing light vehicles at considerable 
speed. Modern selection has developed them into a breed of 
heavy-harness horses. This breed was first developed in 
north-eastern England. The Hackney is a horse with a 
broad and level back, short, round body, short legs, arching 
neck, with head carried high — altogether a strongly-built, 
active animal. The Hackney is a "high-stepper," that is, 
the knee and hock are bent so that the feet are lifted high and 



THE HORSE 



219 



clear from the ground. His gait is not as fast as his move- 
ments suggest. The color is usually chestnut, bay, or brown 
with white markings. In the United States Hackneys are 




42. MINNO 3577, A CHAMPION GERMAN COACH STALLION 



most common in the eastern states and cities. The breed is 
not quite so large and heavy as the other coach breeds. 

4. The Cleveland Bay. — The native home of the Cleveland 
Bay horse is in York County, England, and it is still bred 
there in larger numbers than elsewhere. This breed is the 
largest of the coach breeds, being about sixteen and one-half 
hands high on an average, and weighing from 1,200 to 1,500 
pounds. The breed is always bay in color, with black legs. 



220 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

mane, and tail. A star in the forehead and a few white hairs 
on the heels is all the white allowed for pure-bred animals. 
The Cleveland Bay has never been largely introduced into the 
United States, but would be a good horse for ordinary farm 
work as well as for carriage purposes. 

The light-harness class combines great strength and rapid 
movement with considerably less weight than that of the 
heavy-harness or coach class. To the light-harness class be- 
long trotters, pacers, and roadsters. The runners and sad- 
dlers may also be mentioned in this connection. Only one of 
these, the runner or thoroughbred, can be said to be so pure- 
bred as to be recognized as a real breed. All the others are 
of more or less mixed breeding. 

All the types belonging to the light-harness or speed class 
are characterized by their long, slim necks, lank bodies, long, 
clean legs, and a general bony appearance. The body of a 
horse belonging to this class is not as round and full as that 
of a draft or coach horse. A cross-section back of the shoul- 
ders would be elliptical in outline. Such a deep and thin body 
is favorable to good lung action, so desirable for rapid move- 
ment and long endurance. 

The foundation stock of the Thoroughbred, that is, the ani- 
mals first used to start the breed, were stallions from Arabia 
and the Barbary States. These were mated to the native 
English mares. By selection from the offspring the breed 
was established and has been well known for about two hun- 
dred years. Fresh blood from the Orient has been frequently 
brought in for the improvement and maintenance of the 
breed. The Thoroughbred is a natural runner and in Eng- 
land he is much used for hunting. Such horses are called 
Hunters. 



THE HORSE 



221 



The American Trotter is a class of horses bred for racing 
and hght driving. The breed in the beginning had a good 
deal of Thoroughbred blood in it The trotters are divided 
into families and each is named after some famous stallion 
who was the sire of a number of race winners. Six of the 
more prominent families are: * 1. The Hambletonian, named 
after Hambletonian 10. 2. The Mambrino, after Mambrino 




43. AIKEN DILLON, A TYPICAL ROADSTER 

Chief. 3. The Morgan, after a horse named Justin Morgan. 
4. The Clay, after a horse called Henry Clay. 5. The Pilot, 
after Pilot. 6. The Hal, after Tom Hal. The last family is 
one of the most distinguished. Many of its members were fast 
pacers. 

The pacer had about the same origin as the trotter, and 
about the only difference between a pacer and a trotter is the 
gait. Many horses both pace and trot. The pacing gait is a 
* Plumb: Types and Breeds of Farm Animals. 



222 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

faster one than the trotting. Dan Patch is at this time (1908) 
the fastest pacer in the world. His record is a mile in 1 : 55^. 

The roadster is a harness type of the trotter or pacer class, 
somewhat heavier than is used for racing, but not as heavy 
as a coacher. The roadster is desirable for pulling light vehi- 
cles on the road. He is especially desired by physicians and 
others who have much driving to do. 

The American Saddle-Horse was developed mainly in 
Kentucky. Because of bad roads, which made travel by 
horseback necessary, aneasy-gaited saddle-horse was desirable. 
The saddle-horse had a great deal of Thoroughbred blood in 
his early ancestry. Many pacers were also used in the breed- 
ing-stock. A saddle-horse must have a very strong back in 
order to carry his rider well. 

Stud Books. — Usually the men interested in a breed or 
class of horses meet and form a society to promote the 
interests of that breed. They publish a book in which are 
listed the names, ages, owners, descriptions, and pedigrees of 
their animals. A pedigree is the ancestry of the animal for 
several generations back. Such books are called stvd books. 
When an animal has its name and description in one of these 
books it is said to be registered. Each association lays down 
certain rules and requirements which an animal must fulfil 
before it can be registered. For example, before a saddle- 
horse can be registered in the American Saddle-Horse Stud 
Book he must be able to move in five different gaits — walk, 
trot, rack, canter, and either running walk, fox-trot, or slow 
pace. 

What has been said concerning the registering of horses in 
stud books, is also true of all other kinds and breeds of ani- 
mals. Men who raise pure-bred cattle have their herd books 



THE HORSE 223 

in which are listed and described the choice bulls and cows of 
the particular breed in which the breeder is interested. 
Each breed has its own herd book. The herd book for sheep 
is called a flock book. For swine the registry book is also 
called a herd book. 

Gaits of a Saddle Horse.* — The three natural gaits of a 
horse are the walk, trot, and gallop or run. By training the 
gallop is changed into a canter, which is really only a slower 
movement and easier to ride. We then have the walk-trot- 
canter or plain-gaited horse. There are two other easier gaits 
— the running walk and the rack. The running walk is faster 
than a flat-foot walk and is an easy movement both for the 
horse and the rider. In it each foot strikes the ground inde- 
pendently. The slow pace is a kind of running walk but also 
resembles the pace. The two feet on each side strike the 
ground at almost the same time. It is a comfortable gait. 
The fox- trot is a slow trot or jog-trot. It is also a kind of run- 
ning walk. It is a broken-time movement and is somewhat 
easier than the pure trot. 

The trot is the diagonal gait. The off fore foot and the 
near hind foot strike the ground at the same instant and the 
horse bounds off them to hit the ground on the other two 
feet. This gives a two-beat gait. The pace is the lateral 
gait. The off forefoot and the off hindfoot hit the ground at 
the same time, followed by the pair on the near side. The 
rack is a four-beat gait. Each foot strikes the ground at a 
different moment and its stroke rings clear and distinct on 
the hard road-bed. The rack is easy for the rider but hard 
on the horse. The rack is sometimes called single-foot, but 
this term is incorrect. 

* Abbreviated from Breeder's Gazette, June 10, 1903. 



224 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



The American Saddle-Horse Breeders' Association recog- 
nizes five gaits; namely, the walk, trot, canter, rack, and the 
running walk or slow pace, or fox-trot. When a horse can 
show these five gaits he is called a gaited horse. 

Ponies. — Horsemen are generally agreed that a horse less 




44. SHETLAND PONY, GENERAL SHAFTER 
A prize winner at many State Fairs 

than fourteen and a quarter hands high should be called a 
pony. There are several breeds of ponies, most of which 
come from England, Wales, and Scotland. 

1. The Shetland pony's native home is the Shedand Isl- 
ands, lying north of Scotland. It is, however, bred in many 
other places. The Shetland pony is a small draft-horse, 



THE HORSE 225 

being strong in body and legs. The hair is quite long, being 
necessarily so in the cold climate of the Shetland Islands. It 
ranges in height from thirty-six to forty-four inches. Shetland 
ponies bred in the United States and well cared for grow 
larger than in their native country. They are of all colors. 
They are used in mines in England, but in America are used 
almost entirely for children's pets. They are very gentle and 
can be safely handled by any child who does not abuse them. 

2. Other Ponies. — The Welsh pony comes from Wales. 
Some are large enough to pass for horses. These ponies are 
quite well known and are very popular, as are also the 
Hackney ponies. These are really only small-sized Hackney 
horses. In America we have the Indian ponies, mustangs, 
and bronchos, which are different names for practically the 
same animal. The mustang and broncho are the names used 
in the South and West, while the others are more common in 
the northern states of the West. These ponies are descendants 
of horses brought to America by the early Spaniards. When 
properly treated they are very useful in their native regions. 
The Polo pony is simply a small horse, active and strong 
enough to be used for polo-playing. 

The Mule. — The donkey is a distinct breed just as the 
horse is. It is native to Asia. A mule is a cross between a 
horse and a donkey. The breeding and raising of mules is 
extensively carried on in the United States. Missouri, 
Texas, Tennessee, and Kentucky are the leading states in 
mule-raising. St. Louis is the largest mule market in the 
world. It is interesting to know that George Washington was 
prominent as a breeder of mules and that Henry Clay introduced 
mule-breeding into Kentucky. 

Mules differ very much in type according to the use for 



226 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

which they are bred. For example, in the markets they are 
classed as plantation mules, cotton mules, lumber mules, rail- 
road mules, mine mules, and levee mules, according as they 
are fitted to do the work in the various places. 

Mules are used more extensively in the southern states than 
in the northern. They can stand warm weather and hard 
work better than horses, nor do they suffer so much from 
the attacks of insects and diseases. The mule is a patient, 
faithful, and gentle animal when sensibly treated and is use- 
ful for hard work for a long period of years. 

The burro of the South-west and the Rocky Mountains is 
a small animal of the donkey family. 



CHAPTER XXXI 
FARM ANIMALS: 11. CATTLE 

Cattle.— Cattle existed in Europe and Asia before the 
ice age. Bones of cattle have been found in the ruins of the 
Lake-dwellers in Switzerland. Our present domesticated 
cattle were developed from the native cattle of Great Britain 
and western Europe, which in turn were brought there prob- 
ably by the invading tribes from the East. The original native 
catde of Great Britain are represented by the wild white 
cattle found on a reserve in southern England and by the 
Kyloes of Scotland and the Black catde of Wales. These 
wild catde are closely inbred and are being carefully pro- 
tected. 

There are said to be more than one hundred different 
breeds of catde.* Only a very few of these are well known or 
of much importance. All the breeds in America were origi- 
nally brought from Great Britain or the Continent. The 
most important breeds are grouped into three classes: beef 
breeds, dairy breeds, and dual-purpose breeds. 

Beef Breeds. — Beef breeds are raised primarily for their 
flesh-producing qualities. None but the Shorthorn gives 
enough milk to be profitable for milk and butter production. 
All beef breeds are blocky in appearance, having short legs, 
deep, compact bodies, thick, deep quarters, short, thick necks, 

* Brooks' Agriculture, p. 544. 
227 



228 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



broad backs, and ribs well covered with flesh. Most breeds 
may be recognized by their color. The following are the 
principal beef breeds: 

1. Shorthorn. — This is the largest in number of any 
of the beef breeds. The breed came from north-eastern Eng- 




45- 



IMPORTED MERRY HAMPTON 
A typical Shorthorn 



land, where it was probably developed from cattle brought in 
by the early invaders of England and bred to the native cattle. 
They were called Shorthorn because of their short horns as 
compared with horns of native stock. They are also often 
called Durham, because of the county of Durham in which 



CATTLE 229 

they were largely bred. Still older names were Teeswater and 
Holderness, The Shorthorn was one of the first breeds to be 
improved. Such noted men as the Colling brothers, Thomas 
Bates, Thomas Booth, and Amos Cruickshank were leaders in 
this improvement. Some of their best animals were founders 
of noted Shorthorn families, such as Princess, Duchess, Wild 
Eyes, Cherry Blossom, Violet, and Secret. The various fami- 
lies produced by Thomas Bates were all heavy milk producers. 
The Shorthorn is equalled in weight only by the Hereford. 
Cows weigh about 1,600 pounds and bulls about 2,000 
pounds and more. The color is red, white, combinations of 
red and white, and roan, never any black. Red and roan 
seem to be equally popular colors. The Shorthorn is nearly 
always gentle and easily managed. 

A breed of Polled Durham cattle has been developed rather 
recently in America. They do not differ from the standard 
Shorthorn except in being hornless. However, there are two 
classes: 1. The "single standard which was produced by 
breeding native muley cows to pure-bred Shorthorn bulls. 
Animals of this kind of ancestry can be registered only in the 
Polled Durham herd book, hence the term ** single standard." 
2. The "double standard" came from carefully breeding 
Shorthorns with no horns. Animals of such pure descent can 
be registered in both the American Shorthorn herd book and 
the Polled Durham herd book. It should be understood that 
a herd book is the same for cattle as the stud book is for 
horses. 

2. Hereford. — This breed originated in Herefordshire, 
England, and is said to be one of the oldest breeds in Eng- 
land. Because of their white faces they are sometimes called 
White Faces. The Hereford is shorter-legged than the Short- 



230 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

horn, but is equal to it in weight. Herefords are excellent for 
beef, but are small milk producers, the cow giving scarcely 
enough to support the calf. In color they are red with white 
faces, and white on the throat, belly, feet, and switch. This 
breed is not quite so good for close confinement as the Short- 
horn, but on the western plains and ranges they are superior 
to Shorthorns. They are good "rusders" and can live on scant 
pasturage. 

The first Herefords were brought to America by Henry 
Clay in 1817 and used in Kentucky. Herefords have be- 




46. A TYPICAL SHOW HERD OF HEREFORD CATTLE 

come quite popular in the states bordering the Mississippi 
and west of it. They have been extensively used for improv- 
ing the cattle of the western ranges. They are also exten- 
sively raised on the plains of Australia, Argentina, New 
Zealand, and Canada. There is being developed a breed of 
polled Herefords which is very promising. They do not 
differ from the standard breed except in having no horns. 

3. Aberdeen Angus. — This is a Scotch breed and came 
from the counties of Aberdeen and Angus in north-eastern 
Scotland. They are frequently called '^doddies," which 
means hornless cattle. The name Angus is now mostly used. 
It is a very old breed, but improvement of the breed has not 
been going on so long as that of the Shorthorn and Hereford. 



CATTLE 231 

The Angus breed is black and polled. They are not quite 
so heavy as the Shorthorns and Herefords, but weigh very 
heavy in proportion to their size. Their bodies are more cy- 
lindrical than those of the other beef breeds, the skin is soft 
and the hair short and silky. The Angus gives a fair amount 
of milk, but not so much as the Shorthorns. The beef of the 




47. Lucy's prince, 46181. 

Typical Angus bull, three times champion of his breed at Chicago 
International Live Stock Shows 

Angus is of superior quality. The breed stands confinement 
well and makes good use of feed. On the western plains they 
are not quite so hardy as the Herefords. They are raised 
mostly in the corn-belt states. 

4. Galloway. — This is also a Scotch breed and came from 
south-western Scotland. It is a very old breed and not much 
is known of its origin. It has been bred pure for more than 
a century and has been hornless as far back as records go. 



232 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

The Galloway is not quite so large as the other three beef 
breeds described. It is short-legged, rather long-bodied, 
always polled, and black in color. No white or other color is 
permitted in pure-bred animals. The hair of the coat is 
longer and more curly than that of the other breeds, except 
the West Highland. Quite often the skins are tanned and 
made into robes and fur coats. The beef of this breed is ex- 
cellent, being as good as, or better than, that of the Angus. Gal- 
loway cows do not give much milk, although there is enough 
to raise the calves. The breed is hardy and stands "se- 
vere climatesand scant pasturage very well. For this reason 
the government is experimenting with Galloway cattle in 
Alaska. They are also being raised in large numbers on the 
western ranges. A few successful experiments have been 
made in breeding together the buffalo and the Galloway. 
The offspring is called a Catalo. 

White Shorthorn bulls are often bred to Galloway and 
Angus cows. This breeding gives animals that are blue-gray 
in color and are most excellent feeders for beef production. 
They are commonly called ''blue-grays.'* 

5. Other Beef Breeds. — The West Highland breed of cattle 
comes from the western highlands of Scotland, where they 
run almost wild winter and summer. They are the hardiest 
of all breeds. They weigh from 900 to 1,000 pounds, are 
short-legged, quite blocky, and have very long, wavy hair, 
said sometimes to reach six inches in length. The color 
varies, being black, dun, yellow, or brindled. They do not 
give much milk and are useful only for their beef, which is 
excellent in quality. There are few West Highland cattle in 
the United States, but they might become useful in the 
mountain regions of the North-west and Alaska. 



CATTLE 233 

The Sussex cattle are an English breed and are scarcely 
known in the United States. They are almost as large as the 
Herefords and much resemble them, except that they do not 
have white faces. The color is solid red. They were formerly 
raised in England to be used as oxen. 

The Longhorn breed is also an English breed, of which there 
are now but few left. It resembles the Shorthorn except in 
its extremely long horns. Robert Bakewell was one of the 
most famous breeders in England in his time, and he used the 
Longhorns in showing what could be accomplished by scien- 
tific methods. 

Dairy Breeds. — The true dairy breeds are valuable mainly 
for their milk producing qualities. They are poor beef pro- 
ducers both in quality and quantity. The dairy type is en- 
tirely different from the beef type. The quarters are thin and 
muscular, not fleshy. The neck of the cow is thin and lean, 
but that of the bull is quite thick and strong. The barrel is 
large. This indicates an ability to handle large quantities of 
food, which is necessary for the production of large amounts 
of milk. The ribs are wide apart and less curved at the 
upper part than in beef breeds. The hips are quite promi- 
nent and angular. The legs are straight and placed well apart, 
especially the hind ones. The tail is long with a large switch. 
The skin of a good dairy animal is soft, a rich, waxy yellow 
in color, and covered with soft, short hair. The udder should 
be large, squarely set, and the quarters of about equal size. 
The teats are well placed and large enough to be easily handled 
in milking. The udder should extend high up behind and 
should be covered with soft fine hair. The milk veins, which 
convey blood through the udder toward the heart, show on 
the under side of the abdomen, and their size is an indication 



234 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



of the cow's ability to give milk. The holes where they enter 
the abdomen near the front legs are called the ''milk wells." 
On the whole, a good dairy animal gives the impression of 
being rather poor and bony. 

Live stock men say that the beef animal is parallelogrammic 
in form; that is, any view that one may take of the animal 




HOOD FARM POGIS 9th 55552. A TYPICAL JERSEY BULL. 
By courtesy of Hood Farm, Lowell, Mass. 

gives the rough outline of a rectangle, while the dairy animal 
shows the wedge form. The good dairy type shows a wedge 
form in three directions: 1. When viewed from the side, the 
animal is deeper behind than in front. 2. If one stands in 
front of the animal, it shows thicker through from side to 
side at the back than it does in front. 3. If looked down upon 
the body is thicker below than it is above. 

1. Jersey. — Jersey cattle are more largely kept in America 



CATTLE 235 

than any other dairy breed. The Jersey originated in the 
island of Jersey, about fourteen miles from the coast of 
France. It is believed that they descended from the native 
cattle of Brittany and Normandy. Jerseys have been bred 
pure in the island of Jersey for two centuries. Since 1789 
a law in the island has prohibited the importation of any 
cattle except to be slaughtered. Jersey cattle are among the 
smallest of the dairy breeds. The color is variable, from 
light yellow to black, and is usually described as fawn. 
The nose is usually dark-'tolored. In registering Jerseys the 
color of the tongue and the switch must be given. These may 
be either white or black. The Jersey is a great butter pro- 
ducer. She gives a considerable quantity of milk and this is 
very rich in butter-fat. Butter-fat is the very small globules 
of fat contained in the milk, which, when it stands, rise to the 
top and form the cream. It is very common for a Jersey cow 
to make fourteen pounds and more of butter in seven days; a 
few have made twenty pounds. Jersey milk is also good for 
cheese-making. Many competitive tests have been made in 
which Jerseys have competed with other breeds for butter and 
cheese records, and in most cases they have won. Jer- 
sey cows are usually genUe and easily handled, but the bulls 
are often vicious. 

Professor Plumb * names the following as being ten of the 
most prominent Jersey families: Signal, Coomassie, Euro- 
tas. Tormentor, St. Lambert, Golden Lad, Combination, 
Fontaine, Oxford, and Landseer. Jersey cattle often sell for 
very high prices, sales having been made for as much as 
$10,000 per head, while $1,000 is frequently obtained for 
imported animals for breeding and show purposes. 
* Types and Breeds of Farm Animals. 



23(3 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



2. Gitertisey. — This breed originated on the island of 
Guernsey, which hes near Jersey. Like the Jersey breed, the 
Guernsey probably descended from the cattle of Normandy 
and Brittany. The Guernseys have been bred pure for many 




49. DOLLY DIMPLE, 19144 ADV. R. 

A typical Guernsey cow. Two-year-old record — 14009 pounds milk; 703 pounds 
butter-fat in one year, being the world's record for age of all breeds 



years on the island of Guernsey. No foreign cattle can be im- 
ported into the island. Guernsey cattle are somewhat larger 
than Jerseys. They resemble the Jersey very much, and un- 
less one is familiar with them he is apt to mistake them for 
Jerseys. The color is yellowish, brownish, or reddish-fawn 
with patches of white. The reddish-fawn is most common. 
The nose is usually flesh-colored. The skin is a richer yellow 



CATTLE 



237 



than that of any other breed, being especially so inside the 
ears and at the end of the tail. The Guernsey is about equal 
to the Jersey in the production of butter. Guernsey butter 
is a very rich yellow in color. Guernseys are not very com- 




50 . HOLSTEIN-FRIESIAN COW, AAGIE CORNUCOPIA PAULINE, 48426 
Champion butter cow of the world from 1904 to 1907. ^e^^jl— ^59 pounds 
milk, 34 pounds 5.2 ounces butter in 7 days at the age of 4 years 11 months 

mon as yet in the United States, but seem to be increasing in 
popularity. 

3. Holstein-Friesian.— This is a Dutch breed of cattle 
coming from the northern part of Holland, where it has been 
bred pure for nearly two thousand years. The name is de- 
rived from two provinces in Holland. This breed is found in 
every state in our Union and is especially numerous in the 
dairy districts near large cities. They are next to the Jerseys 



238 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

in point of number. The Holstein-Friesian is the largest of 
the dairy breeds, being almost as heavy as Shorthorns, but they 
are not so beefy. They are always black and white in color 
in America, but in Holland some pure-bred herds are red and 
white. The calves make good veal, but the beef of mature 
animals is not of good quality. As producers of large quan- 
tities of milk, the Holstein-Friesian is ahead of all other 
breeds, but the average milk is rather low in per cent, of but- 
ter-fat, being about three per cent., while that of the Jersey 
and Guernsey is four and a half to five per cent. Many cows 
have given from 20,000 to 30,000 pounds of milk in a year, 
and because of this large quantity there are many butter 
records of twenty pounds and over per week. The butter-fat 
globules are small and do' not separate from milk quickly 
upon standing. For this reason the milk is excellent for retail 
trade. The milk is also used largely for cheese in cheese- 
making districts. There are many noted families of Holstein- 
Friesians. Plumb mentions the following prominent ones: 
Aaggie, Netherland, Clothilde, Johanna, Pauline Paul, De 
Kol, Schuiling, and Pietertje. 

4. Ayrshire. — ^^This is a Scotch dairy breed coming from 
the county of Ayr. Its origin was from a mixture of breeds 
followed by careful selection. The Ayrshire is red, brown, or 
white, or a mixture of these colors. They are somewhat larger 
than Jerseys and Guernseys. In milk and butter yields they 
compare very well with other breeds. Their milk is espe- 
cially good for cheese-making. The calves of this breed 
also make good veal. Ayrshires are hardy and do well on 
scant pasturage. In America they are found mostly in 
Ontario and Quebec, and in New York and the New Eng- 
land states. 



CATTLE 



239 



5. Other Dairy Breeds. — The Dutch Belted cattle are an- 
other Dutch breed, having been bred pure for many years by 
the aristocracy of Holland. They got their name from a band 
of white which encircles the barrel back of the shoulders and 




51' 



A GROUP OF DUTCH BELTED CATTLE IN PASTURE 



in front of the hips. The remainder of the body is black. 
They are not so large as the Holstein-Friesians, but in general 
resemble them in characteristics. There are few of this 
breed in America. 

The Kerry cattle are an Irish breed and the Kerry cow is 
famous as the "poor man's cow." This is the smallest of 
dairy breeds, forty inches being a common height. The color 



240 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

is mostly black with a line of white along the back and also 
under the belly. The Kerry cow is a wonderful milk pro- 
ducer for her size and the small amount of feed which she 
gets. There are very few Kerries in the United States. 

The French-Canadian is an American breed, descended 
from the cattle brought by the first French settlers in Quebec. 
The breed very much resembles the Jersey. The color is 
usually black. They are excellent milk producers and are 
very hardy. They are bred almost entirely in the province 
of Quebec. 

Dual-Purpose Breeds. — By a dual-purpose or general- 
purpose breed is meant one which is both a good milk pro- 
ducer and a good beef producer There is quite a demand 
from farmers for cattle which will give a fair quantity of milk 
and will also produce calves which sell well as veals or will 
grow into good beef animals. The dual-purpose type is not 
so large and massive as the beef type nor so lean and angular 
as the dairy type. There are several breeds classed as dual- 
purpose breeds, but in any of these breeds both beef and 
milking types are to be found. 

1 . Shorthorn. — As was mentioned on page 229, some fam- 
ilies of Shorthorns are noted for their milk production. This 
is especially true of the Bates families. The Polled Durham 
breeders are trying to make that breed a strictly dual-purpose 
one. 

2. Devon. — This is a very old English breed, being 
spoken of by the earliest writers. Its native home is in the 
counties of Devon and Somerset, in England. The Devons 
vary in size, some types being larger than others. The larger, 
coarser types are usually better milk producers than the 
smaller, trimmer types, which are better for beef. Devon 



CATTLE 241 

milk ranks with Jersey milk in quality and is also abund- 
ant in quantity. Devon cows fatten fairly well and produce 
beef of excellent quality. In color, they are usually cherry 
red with no white, unless it be on the udder. The horns of 
the cow are long and slender and turn up with graceful curves. 



.%^ 



52. ENGLISH SHORTHORN COW, TULIP LEAF, OWNED BY LORD 
ROTHSCHILD, TRING PARK, ENGLAND 

Record — io,502pound.sof milk in one year when 11 years old. She is a good specimen 
of the dual-purpose breeds 

The bulFs horns grow out at right angles to the head and are 
stout and only slightly turned up. This breed is found mostly 
in New England and Ohio. 

3. Red Polled. — This is the truest dual-purpose breed. 
It originated in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, England. 
All animals are polled, and solid red is the preferred color, 
although white may occur on the switch, udder, or belly. 
They are larger than Devons but smaller than Shorthorns, 



242 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

males weighing about 1,800 pounds and females 1,250 pounds. 
They give a large quantity of milk of fair quality. One of 
their faults is poorly shaped udders and extremely large 
teats. The steers fatten well and the cows, after they 
have ceased to give milk, fatten quickly. The beef is of 
very good quality. The Red Polled breed is not numerous 
in the United States, but is becoming more and more 
popular. 

4. Brown Swiss. — In Switzerland we have some of the 
oldest records of cattle, their remains being found in the de- 
bris of the Lake-dwellers. There are two distinct breeds in 
Switzerland of about equal importance. One of these, called 
the Simmenthal, is cream yellow and white in color. Practi- 
cally none of this breed has been brought to America. The 
other breed is known as the Brown Swiss and a few herds are 
to be found in the United States. They range from dark 
brown to light brown in color, shading to gray along the 
backbone. The udder is usually white. They are a rather 
coarse-boned and rough-framed cattle. In weight they are 
about like the Red Polled. Both breeds of Swiss cattle are 
famous in their native country for their milk, which produces 
large quantities of butter and cheese. 



CHAPTER XXXII 
FARM ANIMALS: III. SHEEP AND GOATS 

Sheep-raising has been an occupation for a longer time 
than history records. In early times sheep were raised 
more for their wool and milk than for their flesh. Wool was 
made into cloth in Asia at least 2,000 years before Christ. 

Sheep wild by nature live in mountainous regions and are 
still found in mountainous parts of both the Old World 
and the New. In North America we have in the Rocky 
Mountains the Bighorn and the Alaskan sheep. In South 
America we find the Vicuna, Llama, and Alpaca. These last 
are closely related to the sheep. All our domestic sheep 
originated in the Old World, but it is not known whether 
they are descended from some of the present wild sheep or 
whether they came from a race of sheep now extinct. Sheep 
were brought to America by the earliest colonists. 

The various breeds of sheep are usually classed as fine- 
wooled, medium-wooled, or coarse-wooled sheep. They are 
also often classed as mutton or as wool breeds, but a breed good 
for mutton production also produces wool of value, so it 
seems better to classify according to the wool. The coarse- 
wooled and medium-wooled breeds are known as the mutton 
breeds. The essentials for a mutton sheep are the same as 
for a beef animal, namely, a square, blocky form well filled 
out in all parts. The coarse-wooled breeds are the Leicester 

243 



244 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



(pronounced Les'ter), the Lincoln, and the Cotswold. Of 
these the Cotswold is the most important in the United States. 
The Cotswold sheep originated in Gloucestershire, Eng- 
land. The name is a combination of *'cots," meaning sheds, 
and "weald," or "wold," meaning naked, hilly ground. The 




A TYPICAL CUT.s\V<JLl) 



breed has been much improved by careful breeding and 
selection. The breed is one of the largest, being equalled in 
size by the Lincoln only. The rams weigh about 250 to 275 
pounds. These sheep have rather long legs, large, strong 
bodies, and a long wool which is in locks more or less curly. 
Several locks hang over the forehead, and this is rather a dis- 
tinguishing mark. The face is white, the nose Roman, and 
there are no horns. 



SHEEP AND GOATS 245 

The Cotswold is a good wool producer. The fleece will 
average ten pounds in weight and the staple is often twelve to 
fourteen inches in length, but is rather coarse. The word 
staple refers to the fibres of wool. The mutton of this breed 
is only fair in quality, the fat not being well distributed 
through the lean meat. Lambs less than twelve months old 
make the best mutton. 

This breed is widely distributed, but the total number is 
not so large as that of some other breeds. In America the 
leading flocks are in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and 
Ontario. 

The Leicester breed comes from Leicestershire in central 
England. It was one of the first breeds to be improved. 
Robert Bakewell made himself famous by his improvement 
of it. It has been much used for crossing for the improve- 
ment of other breeds. The mutton is much like that of the 
Cotswold, but the wool has a much finer fibre and does not 
lie in curls. The head is bare of wool and there are no horns. 
While this breed is widely distributed, the total number of 
animals is not large. 

The Lincoln is also an English breed, coming from the 
county of Lincoln. It is the largest of our breeds of sheep. 
Rams sometimes weigh 400 pounds, but 300 pounds is an 
average weight. The wool hangs in curls somewhat like the 
fleece of the Cotswold and there is a short forelock. The staple 
is longer than that of any other breed, being reported as long 
as twenty-one inches. The average weight of the fleece is 
about fifteen pounds. The mutton is much the same as that 
of the Cotswold. The breed is also widely distributed but 
nowhere very numerous. Rams of this breed are being exten- 
sively used for breeding purposes in Argentina, and the lambs 



246 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

are sold in English markets. High prices have been realized 
for rams for use in Argentina, one being sold for S7,600. 

The medium- wooled breeds are represented by the Shrop- 
shire, Southdown, Dorset, Cheviot, Hampshire, Oxford, 




54. A SHROPSHIRE, AN EXCELLENT SPECIMEN OF THE MUTTON 
AND WOOL TYPE 

Note the blocky, compact form 

Tunis, and Suffolk. The Shropshires, Southdowns, Hamp- 
shires, Oxfords, and Suffolks are known as the Down breeds. 
As a pure breed, the Shropshire is not very old. Its native 
home is in the counties of Shropshire and Stafford, England. 
It is said that the original Shropshire was horned, black or 
brown faced, produced about two and a half pounds of wool 
at a shearing, and dressed about forty pounds of mutton when 



SHEEP AND GOATS 247 

slaughtered. Several breeds were used in the early Improve- 
ment of Shropshire sheep, but for many years they have been 
bred pure. 

The face, ears, and legs of Shropshires are usually black or 
dark brown. The face is usually almost entirely covered 
with wool, this being a distinguishing mark. They have no 
horns. Sheep of this breed are above medium size, rams 
averaging about 225 pounds and ewes 160 pounds. The 
wool is distributed over the body evenly and close. The 
fleece will average ten to twelve pounds in weight, and is 
medium fine in quality. The mutton of the Shropshire is 
excellent in quality and large in quantity. 

Although Shropshires were not imported into the United 
States until about 1860, they are now probably more numer- 
ous than any other breed. Several things have tended to 
make them popular with farmers and sheep-raisers : (1) Their 
general-purpose character, being good producers of both 
wool and mutton; (2) the ewes often give birth to two lambs, 
so that the shepherd's flock increases rapidly in number; 
(3) they are useful for improving native sheep; (4) the lambs 
mature early, that is, are soon ready for market. 

The Southdown originally came from south-eastern Eng- 
land. In that region there is a range of low, chalky hills called 
the South Downs and from these the breed takes its name. 
The improvement of the breed was begun long ago. Many 
English noblemen have been noted as breeders of Southdown 
sheep; even King Edward VII has a fine flock. 

The Southdown is the smallest of the English breeds that 
have been brought to America, rams weighing 175 pounds and 
ewes 135 pounds. The face, ears, and legs are grayish- 
brown or reddish-brown, always lighter-colored than Shrop- 



248 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

shires. The face is not so completely covered with wool, nor 
is that on the forehead and top of the head so long as in the case 
of Shropshires. The body is rounded and plump. The wool is 
rather short but of fine quality. Fleeces average about seven 
pounds. The mutton is of the best quality, being tender, 
juicy, well-flavored, and fine-grained. The lambs mature 
quickly and sell well on thfe market. Southdowns are found 
everywhere, but their number is not so large as that of Shrop- 
shires. 

The county of Hampshire, in England, is the native home of 
the Hampshire breed. The breed has been developed within 
the last century. It is one of the largest of the middle-wool 
breeds. In a general way it resembles the Shropshire, but is 
larger, coarser-boned, and does not produce so much wool, 
nor is it of such good quality. The head is larger than that 
of the Shropshire, and the face is not so completely covered 
with wool. The face, ears, lips, and legs are dark brown or 
black in color. The nose is Roman and quite prominent. 
The mutton is excellent in quality, but smaller in quantity in 
proportion to total weight than in the Southdown or Shropshire 
breeds, owing to the larger bones. Hampshire lambs mature 
early and are good sellers. This breed is not numerous in 
the United States. 

The Oxford breed of sheep is of rather recent origin. It 
was originated in the county of Oxford, England, by the 
breeding together of Cotswold and Hampshire stock. The 
breed has become quite popular, owing to several good quali- 
ties. Of these its large size is most prized. It is the largest of 
the middle-wool breeds and almost equals the coarse-wool 
breeds. It produces a heavy weight of excellent mutton and 
shears a heavy fleece of coarse wool. The lambs do not ma- 



SHEEP AND GOATS 249 

ture quite so early as those of some other breeds, but become 
heavier. The Oxfords are widely distributed and are in- 
creasing in numbers. 

The Suffolk sheep is scarcely known in America. Its native 
home is in the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, and adjoining 
counties in England. The Suffolk is a large breed very much 
resembling the Hampshire. The head, face, ears, and legs 
are black. The head has no horns and the wool extends only 
to the poll. They shear a good fleece and the mutton b said 
to be excellent. 

Tunis sheep were brought to America from Tunis, Africa, 
in 1799. Only one pair survived the voyage, and Professor 
Shaw* says that these were the ancestors of all the Tunis sheep 
now in America. This breed averages about 150 pounds in 
weight. The color varies, but is usually gray. It is never pure 
white. The mutton is excellent and the fleece of good qual- 
ity. The ewes are quite prolific, often producing two lambs 
at a time and frequently bearing young twice a year. There 
are very few Tunis sheep in America, and those principally 
in Indiana, Ohio, and South Carolina. 

The Dorset Horn is an English breed of sheep not well 
known in America. Both the ram and ewe have horns; those 
of the ram curve spirally, while those of the ewe curve out- 
ward, downward, and forward. The face, legs, and hoofs are 
white and there is a short foretop. In mutton and wool 
production they compare favorably with other breeds. Their 
main strong point is for the production of early market lambs. 
The ewes will breed at almost any season of the year and the 
grower can have lambs for market at any time. 

The border-land between England and Scotland in the 
* Study of Breeds, p. 211. 



250 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

vicinity of the Cheviot Hills is the native horme of the Cheviot 
breed of sheep. No one knov^s of then- earliest origin. This 
breed is suited to hilly regions and is quite hardy, enduring 
well severe weather. It is about as large as the Shropshire. 
The nostrils, lips, and hoofs are black; the head, ears, and 
legs white. The wool is of medium quality and ordinary in 




55. DORSET HORN SHEEP 

quantity, and the mutton is good in quality. The number of 
Cheviots in the United States is not large, the largest number 
being in Indiana and New York. 

The various Merino breeds represent the fine-wooled sheep. 
The Merino stands in about the same relation to other breeds 
of sheep as a dairy breed of cattle does to other breeds. The 
Merino is mainly a wool producing sheep. The fibre of its 
wool is the finest of all wools. The mutton of Merino breeds 
is not high grade either in quality or quantity. The fleece 



SHEEP AND GOATS 251 

of all Merinos is very oily, owing to the large quantity of 
yolky an oily secretion which comes from glands located at 
the root of the wool fibre. This oil passes along the wool 
fibre to its end, where it catches a great deal of dust and dirt 
and is also darkened in color by the sun. This explains why 
Merino sheep always look so dirty. Other breeds of sheep also 
have yolk in their wool, but it is usually small in quantity. 
The form of the Merino is not so plump, square, and blocky 
as that of the breeds already described. Its neck and legs 
have the appearance of being long. Owing to a thin chest, 
the legs often stand too close together in front. The skin is 
loose and is gathered into large wrinkles or folds, especially 
on the neck. 

All Merino breeds originated in Spain. Here sheep-raising 
was an important industry for many centuries, but is not so 
any more. Nothing is known of the beginning of sheep- 
husbandry in Spain. There were many types of Merinos 
there, and from them the various Merino breeds throughout 
the world have been developed. In the United States we have 
the American Merino and the Rambouillet. 

The American Merino was developed from the Spanish 
breeds. Merinos were first brought to the United States 
from Spain about 1793. Since that time many Merinos have 
been imported from Spain, and much has been done by selec- 
tion and careful feeding to improve the breed. The American 
Merino has heavy folds of skin all over its body except on the 
back. The rams have horns, but the ewes have none. The 
entire body and legs are covered with wool. The nose, ears, 
and lower part of the head are not covered with wool. The 
quantity of yolk, or oil, in the wool is so great that when 
fleeces are scoured a very large shrinkage in weight, often as 



252 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



much as fifty per cent, or more, takes place. Merinos are not 
large, rams weighing 130 pounds or more and ewes about 120 
pounds. Many American Merinos shear a fleece which is 
twenty-five per cent, or more of the total weight of the animal. 
The fibre is quite fine, that of the ewes being finer than that 

of the rams. American 
Merino lambs mature 
slowly and the mutton is 
poor in quality. 

From the American 
Merino have been de- 
veloped several types or 
families. The most noted 
of these is the Delaine, 
so called because its 
wool is of the type for- 
merly used for making a 
kind of cloth known as 
delaine. There are sev- 
eral families of Delaine, 
among which are the 
Dickinson Delaine, Na- 
tional Delaine, Victor- 
Beall Delaine, Black-Top Spanish, and Improved Black- 
Top Merino. The Delaines have fewer wrinkles than the 
American Merino, most of them being on the neck and 
lower part of the belly. The Delaine is somewhat larger 
than the American Merino and is somewhat better for mutton. 
The Rambouillet (Ram'boo ya') Merino comes from France 
where it was developed from stock taken from Spain. It has 
also been called the French Merino, but the name Ram- 




A RAMBOUILLET SHEEP 



Notice that the form is less smooth and 
compact than in the mutton type 



SHEEP AND GOATS 253 

bouillet is now more used. This breed is much larger than 
the other Merino breeds and has fewer wrinkles, some speci- 
mens having scarcely any except on the neck. The nose and 
ears are covered with fine wool. The legs are clothed with 
wool to the toes. The fleece is usually not so oily as that of 




57. WENSLEYDALE EWES IN PASTURE 
This is becoming a very popular breed in England 

other Merinos, owing to a somewhat smaller amount of oil. 
The rams have horns, but the ewes are hornless. The Ram- 
bouillet is a fair mutton producer and the lambs mature fairly 
early. The breed is quite hardy and is being much used 
on the western ranges. 

Other breeds of sheep scarcely known in America are: (1) 
The Kent or Romney Marsh, a breed adapted to the low, 



254 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



swampy regions of south-eastern England; (2) The Black- 
Faced Highland, a breed from Scotland, adapted to moun- 
tainous regions; and (3) the Wensleydales, a breed from the 
north of England. 

Goats. — The raising of goats is becoming more and more 
general in the United States, and this is particularly true 




ANGORA GOATS 



where the land is too rough for grain-raising. There are two 
main classes of goats; namely, those which are raised princi- 
pally for their fleece and those raised for their milk. Only the 
first class is raised to any extent in the United States. 

The Angora goat is the one raised for its fleece, which is 
called mohair. Mohair is coarser than sheep's wool, and is 
longer and much stronger. Angora goats were first brought 



SHEEP AND GOATS 255 

to America from Turkey in 1849. Perhaps the original home 
of the Angora is in central Asia. The goat is smaller than 
the average sheep, weighing 60 to 100 pounds. The mohair 
grows eight to ten inches long, or more, in a year and hangs 
in curls all over the body. The fleece is shed in the spring if 
it is not shorn. Underneath the mohair is a short coat of hair 
called kemy. Sometimes it becomes three or four inches 
long and gets mixed with the mohair in shearing. Kemp in 
the mohair spoils the sale. Angora mutton, especially that 
from young Angoras, is said to be very good. Sometimes, 
however, it has a musky odor. It is not often found in the 
market as yet. Angoras are very useful on brushy land, as they 
seem to prefer twigs and leaves to grass. A flock of Angoras 
soon clean a piece of land of all brush and small trees. An- 
goras are found in almost every state in the Union, but the 
largest flocks are in New Mexico and Texas. 

The use of goats for milch animals is very old. The oldest 
records make mention of their use. The milk of the goat is 
quite white in color. The flavor is sometimes musky, but when 
the goats are kept in clean quarters and the females separate 
from the males, there is no unpleasant odor. 

There are several breeds of milch goats, but none has 
become common in America. The common goat is more 
frequently found than any other and it is not a famous milk 
producer. Among the best breeds for milk are: (1) the Mal- 
tese from the island of Malta; (2) the Toggenburg and Saanen 
from Switzerland; and (3) the Nubian goat found in Nubia, 
Egypt, and South Africa. When carefully cared for the 
does give milk for several months, about five months being 
the average. The amount of milk given varies greatly with 
the breed and with individuals. The Nubian seems to be the 



256 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

largest milk producer, some of the does giving as much as ten 
or twelve quarts per day. Other breeds give four to s,x 
quarts, and three to four quarts per day is about an average 
for all the milch breeds. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 
FARM ANIMALS: IV. SWINE 

Swine. — Our domestic swine have been developed from 
the wild hogs of Europe and Asia. There are two species of 
these, but they are not far different. Wild hogs have been 
known since the beginning of history. Hunting the wild 
boar is one of the oldest of sports and is still continued in 
Europe. A kind of wild pig called the peccary is found in 
America, ranging from Arkansas, Texas, and Mexico to Pata- 
gonia. The change from the wild state to a domestic one 
has made a great change in swine. The wild hog requires 
three or four years to become fully grown, while the tame 
hog is fully developed in half the time. The wild hog never 
became very fat, but our present-day pigs may become exces- 
sively fat at an early age. Our domestic pigs are slow in 
action and rarely ferocious, while the wild hog is quick, 
active, and very fierce. 

The various breeds of hogs have been classified in three 
ways: (1) red, white, and black breeds; (2) large, medium, 
and small breeds; (3) lard and bacon breeds. We shall use 
the latter classification. The lard or fat type of hog has short 
legs, compact, blocky body, with short sides, quite wide on 
the back, short neck, small head, large hams and shoulders. 
There is much fat formed under the skin and around the 
kidneys. The large layer of fat formed around the kidneys is 
called leaf lard and is the best in quality. The short sides are 

257 



258 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

almost a mass of fat with very little lean meat. It is the sides 
when cured that produce the breakfast bacon. The lard type 
of hog does not give the best breakfast bacon because of the 
large quantity of fat and small amount of lean. The bacon 
type of hog is almost the opposite of the lard type. It is long- 




59. A TYPICAL BERKSHIRE 
By courtesy of A. J. Lovejoy & Son, Roscoe, III. 

legged, narrow on the back, rather small in the shoulders and 
hams, long and deep in the sides, has a large, coarse head, and 
rather long neck. The bacon type never gets so fat and lub- 
berly as the lard type. The long, deep sides have a good 
quantity of lean flesh mixed with the fat, and this produces the 
delicious bacon of which most persons are very fond. 



SWINE 259 

The Lard Type. — The Berkshire. — This is an English 
breed from the counties of Berkshire and Wilts. In its early 
improvement Chinese, Siamese, and Neapolitan breeds were 
used, but later improvements were mainly by careful selec- 
tion. The Berkshire is one of the larger breeds. Young pigs 
at six months old may easily be made to weigh 180 pounds or 
more. The color is black, with "six white points"; namely, 
white in the face, white on the tail, and four white feet. There 
are sometimes other white marks, but the six mentioned are 
almost always present. The earlier Berkshires were often 
sandy or even red in color. The Berkshire usually carries its 
ears erect, and this helps to distinguish it from the Poland- 
China whose ears always droop more or less. The pork of 
the Berkshire is superior. A large proportion of the flesh 
is lean and the fat is well intermingled. This breed can 
be made to pass for a bacon type when properly fed. 
Berkshires have been largely used in improving other breeds 
and in grading up the common breeds. The Berkshire 
is adapted to a wide range of climate, but is best adapted 
to temperate regions. It is probably more widely distributed 
in the United States than any other breed. Large prices have 
been paid for breeding stock of this breed, boars often selling 
for 11,000 or more. 

Poland-China. — The Poland-China is an American breed 
originating in Butler and Warren Counties, Ohio. It was 
developed from a mixture of several local breeds. These 
breeds were the Russian, Byfield, Big China, Irish Grazier, 
and Berkshire, and probably some others, but since 1845 it 
has been pure. The breed was mostly white in color until 
the Berkshire blood was introduced, after which black with 
white in the face, on the tail, and white feet became the 



260 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



common color. White spots also often occur on various 
parts of the body. The origin of the name Poland-China can- 
not be satisfactorily accounted for. Poland-Chinas are not 
quite so large as Berkshires, but the pigs will mature earlier. 
The pork is much criticised because of the large amount of 




i 



60. NORA P., 160,484, A TYPICAL POLAND-CHINA 

Owned by Purdue University 

Photo by C. N. Arneit, Purdue University 

fat. This breed seems to be well adapted to crossing on 
common sows. More grade Poland-Chinas than any other are 
brought to the Chicago market. By cross-breeding is meant 
the mating of a male of one breed with a female of a different 
breed. The Poland-China breed is confined largely to the 
Mississippi Valley. It is scarcely known in foreign countries. 
Larger prices have been paid for breeding stock of this breed 
than for any other. Poland-Chinas can be distinguished from 



SWINE 261 

Berkshires mainly by their drooping ears, smaller and less 
turned up noses. 

Duroc-Jersey. — This is also a breed of American origin. 
As to its beginning, breeders do not agree, but it is believed 
that the Duroc-Jersey is the result of the mingling of several 
red breeds of hogs. Fifty years ago there were several red 
breeds, among which were: (1) the Guinea breed, introduced 
from Africa; (2) the Portuguese, red hogs imported from 
Portugal by Daniel Webster; (3) Spanish red pigs, imported 
from Spain by Henry Clay; (4) Jersey Reds, a breed common 
in New Jersey; (5) Duroc, a red breed founded in Saratoga 
County, New York; and (6) Red Berkshires, in Connecticut. 
It is probable that the Durocs, Jersey Reds, and Red Berk- 
shires had most to do with the origin of the present breed. 

Duroc- Jerseys have much the same build as the Poland-Chi- 
nas. They are broad-backed, have rather small heads, large, 
drooping ears, heavy shoulders and hams, and are rather 
coarse-boned. The color is always red with varying shades. 
In size they are between the Berkshire and Poland-China, and 
often equal the Berkshire. Duroc-Jersey pigs mature early 
and sell well on the market. The pork is of good quality, 
but perhaps not quite so good as that of the Berkshire. The 
breed is confined mainly to the central states in the corn-belt, 
but is rapidly growing in favor everywhere, owing to its hardi- 
ness, early maturing qualities, and the large litters produced. 

Chester White. — The Chester White is another Amer- 
ican breed, originating in Chester County, Pennsylvania. 
White hogs had been raised there since the time of the 
earliest colonists, and when their improvement began it 
was natural to give the name of the county to the breed. 
Perhaps more has been done in Ohio to improve the breed 



262 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

than elsewhere. The Ohio Improved Chester (O. I. C.) 
Whites are from this source. The Chester White is one of 
the largest breeds. Before improvement was carried to its 
present perfection, animals weighing 1,000 pounds were not 
uncommon. At present mature animals weigh 450 to 600 
pounds. This breed is one of the most profitable to raise, 
since it makes large gains on a small amount of feed. The 




6l. STARK-ADVANCE, 23,477 
Chester White 

pork is of fair quality, containing rather too much fat for the 
leaUo In color this breed, of course, is white, but sometimes 
there are black spots on the skin under the hairo The ears 
are large and drooping, the back broad, the body deep, and 
the legs short. The breed is widely distributed, especially in 
the states north of the latitude of the Ohio River, and is 
popular on account of its early maturing qualities, good size, 
and prolificacy. 

Cheshire.— This breed is also American, originating in 



SWINE 263 

Jefferson County, New York. It is a rather new breed and is 
little known except in New York and New England. It is 
medium in size, of white color, has small, pointed, and erect 
ears, a long body and rather long legs. The pork is said to 
be of fine quality, possessing a large proportion of lean 
which makes it rather a bacon type. 

Victoria. — This is still another American breed and had 
two distinct places of origin. One was in New York where 
Col. F. D. Curtis was the originator. His breed is no longer 
bred pure. The other place of origin was in Lake County, 
Indiana, where Mr. Geo. F. Davis was the originator, 
Mr. Davis started the breed by breeding together Poland- 
Chinas, Berkshires, Chester Whites, and Suffolks and then . 
making careful selections. This work was begun about 
1870. The breed is too young to have a well-established 
standing, but it has been successfully exhibited at many fairs 
and at the Chicago Fat Stock Show. Victorias are about the 
size of Poland-Chinas, white in color, with occasional black 
spots on the skin. The pork is of good quality. One advan- 
tage claimed for the breed is that it is less liable to skin dis- 
eases than other breeds of white hogs. It is confined princi- 
pally to Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois. 

Essex. — This breed is from the county of Essex, England. 
It is one of the smaller breeds and is not well known in 
the United States. It is totally black, the ears are short and 
erect, the body short and chunky, the back rather broad and 
the legs rather short. The pigs mature early and can be fat- 
tened at almost any time. The pork is of good quality but 
has rather too much fat. Essex swine are particularly adapted 
to keeping in pens and small lots. 

Small Yorkshire. — This is also an English breed and one 



264 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

of the smallest in size. It is white, short, and thick, has a 
small head, a face so much dished that the nose turns up, and 
short, erect ears. Small Yorkshires mature very early and 
are ready for market at almost any age. The pork is tender 
and juicy but has too much fat. The breed is not well known 
in the United States. 

Suffolk. — This breed is also of English origin and is prob- 
ably only a variation from the Small Yorkshire, at least the 
two have a very close resemblance. In England there is a 
breed of black swine which is called the Suffolk, but in 
America the breed is white in color. There are but few 
herds in the United States. 

The Bacon Type. — Large Yorkshire. — It is probable that 
this breed has descended from the original English stock. 
Other breeds have been little used in its improvement. The 
Yorkshire is one of the largest breeds, mature animals often 
weighing 1,000 pounds. The head is long with a very long 
snout, and large and somewhat drooping ears, the back is not 
very wide, the sides rather long and deep, legs long, and hams 
and shoulders neat and light. The color is entirely white. 
Yorkshires do not get their growth so early as most of the 
fat breeds, but pigs may be marketed in good form at six to 
nine months. However, they never become very fat. The 
pork is excellent, having a large percentage of lean meat, just 
the kind demanded by the English market. For bacon pro- 
duction this breed is growing in popularity, although in the 
corn-belt farmers mostly prefer the lard type of hog. The 
Large Yorkshire is not yet very common in the United States, 
but is numerous in Canada. There is a variation of this 
breed in England called the Middle White Yorkshire. 

Tamworth. — This breed is said to be one of the oldest and 



SWINE 



265 



purest breeds in England. Its improvement has been almost 
entirely by careful selection. The Tamworth equals the 
Large Yorkshire in size. It is distinctly of the bacon type 
and the pork is excellent, but the Yorkshire seems to be 
more popularo The Tamworth is wholly red in color. The 
head, body, and legs are long. The pigs, as a rule, do not 
mature as quickly as those of other breeds. Both the Tam- 




62. SUMMER HILL COLSTON ECLIPSE 2nD, 4,232 
The large Yorkshire, a type of the bacon breeds. Note the long deep sides 

worth and Large Yorkshire are noted for their prolificacy, 
litters of ten and more being very common. There are many 
herds of Tamworth hogs in America, especially west of the 
Mississippi. 

Hampshire— The origin of this breed is not certainly 
known, but it is probably English. The breed is mainly raised 
in Kentucky. It is of the bacon type and the pork is excel- 
lent. The color is black with a belt of white encircling the 
body just back of and including the front legs. Some animals 
are entirely black. The Hampshire is medium in size. 



266 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

Chinese and Neapolitan Swine. — These breeds are not 
found in this country at the present time. Years ago they 
were more or less used in improving the other breeds, both in 
England and in America. Both breeds were rather small in 
size. The Neapolitan was slate or bluish plum-colored. The 
Chinese was white in color, the back swayed, and the legs 
short. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 
THE BREEDING OF LIVE STOCK 

Selecting the Animals. — Almost every farmer keeps some 
animals, and in almost every case he raises some young ani- 
mals either to take the place of the older ones or to sell. 
The growing of young stock either for home use or for mar- 
ket is the purpose in stock-breeding. 

When one begins to raise young animals he should have 
mature animals with which to begin. These are his founda- 
tion stock. The male is called the sire, the female, the dam. 
The choice of foundation stock is not always wisely made. 
It is desirable that it should consist of animals of as good 
breeding as possible. They should also be of good form 
and appearance, and be suited to the purpose of the breeder. 
Well-bred animals should be chosen for foundation stock for 
at least three reasons: 1. The offspring will bring better 
prices because they look better, and, if sold for slaughter, 
will dress out a larger percentage of meat than animals of 
poor breeding. 2. The offspring will mature more quickly 
than those of animals of poor breeding. 3. Well-bred ani- 
mals eat less food in proportion to the gains they make. 

The term well-bred is used in two ways: (1) when an ani- 
mal has a large percentage of pure blood and is of superior 
quality; (2) when the animal has a long ancestry of pure 
blood and excellent quality. It is pure-bred when its dam 

267 



268 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

and sire are free from mixture with other breeds. For exam- 
ple, a Shorthorn calf is pure-bred if its dam and sire were 
both pure Shorthorns, that is, had no Angus or Hereford or 
Red Polled blood, or the blood of any other breed, in them. 
The terms full blood and thoroughbred are not good terms 
to use when speaking of animals of pure breeding. An ani- 
mal is called a grade when only one of its parents has been 
pure-bred. When both dam and sire are of mixed breeding 
the offspring is a scrub or native. When two animals of pure 
blood but of different breed are bred together the offspring 
is a cross. 

The choice of a sire is more important than the choice of a 
dam, because he is used for mating to all the females of the 
herd. It is a common saying that the sire is half of the herd. 
This is true because each offspring is influenced in half or 
more of its qualities by the characteristics of the sire. When 
a breeder uses a pure-bred male with females of impure breed- 
ing, with the purpose of improving his stock, he is said to be 
grading up his herd. If a pure-bred male is used again with 
the females of this offspring, the improvement will be further 
increased in the second lot of offspring, and the grades be- 
come more nearly pure-bred. If a scrub female is mated to a 
pure-bred male the offspring is a half blood. If this half 
blood be a female and be mated to a pure-bred male the off- 
spring will be a three-quarter blood, for the offspring will de- 
rive one half of its quality from the male, which is pure, and 
the other half will come from the female, one-half of which 
is pure; that is, there is one-fourth of pure blood derived 
from the dam. One-fourth and one-half are three-quarters, 
hence the offspring from the half-blood female and the pure- 
blood male is threerquarters pure. A third such cross will 



THE BREEDING OF LIVE STOCK 269 

give an animal which is seven-eighths pure, a fourth cross an 
animal fifteen-sixteenths pure, and so on. 

By following out the foregoing principles it is clear that in 
a very few generations the offspring will have a very small 
fraction of the original scrub blood in it. But according to 
the rules of live-stock record associations in the United States 
animals of such parentage can never be registered as of pure 
blood. If one wishes to have pure-bred animals there are 
now so many such animals to be had at reasonable prices 
that it is not advisable to go through the long process of 
grading up to get them. However, the use of pure-bred males 
is always to be advised for grading up. 

When one purchases pure-bred animals for starting a herd 
he should give some attention to their pedigrees. A pedigree 
is a statement of the ancestors of an animal. It gives the name 
of the animal and its herd-book number, a description of its 
color, tells its sex, the name of its owner and breeder, and the 
date of its birth. Then follow the names of its sire and dam, 
with their herd-book numbers, and sometimes the grand-sires 
and grand-dams, running back several generations. One who 
is purchasing stock with pedigrees should seek to know some- 
thing about the individual quality of the animals in the an- 
cestry, for while they may have been pure-bred they may also 
have been poor specimens of the breed. This is especially 
true of dairy animals. A dairy cow may be of the purest 
breeding and yet be a poor producer of milk and butter-fat. 

In selecting foundation stock it is best to choose mature 
animals or at least animals which have already produced 
young. The mature animal has its form fully developed, so 
that there is less danger of getting an animal of poor form. 
If a sire has already produced progeny one can form some 



270 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

idea of his value as a breeder. Likewise, we can know some- 
thing of the quahty of the dam. Young and untried animals 
may prove a disappointment. However, it is not advisable to 
select animals too old, for if they have gone past their prime 
their offspring may not have the strength and vitality that it 
should. Moreover, old animals cannot be used very long, so 
that the herd will not increase very much from their blood. 

It is also desirable that animals used for breeding should 
be in good health and free from defects in body. Animals 
suffering from disease are likely to produce weak, puny, and 
undersized offspring. Moreover, animals having defects in 
form are likely to impart the defects to their offspring; that 
is, the young will inherit defects from their parents. None 
but superior animals of good breeding should be used for 
breeding purposes. 

A very important item in successful breeding of live stock 
is the care given the animals used for breeding. One may 
have breeding stock of the best quality, but with careless 
treatment it will give very poor returns. 1. Breeding animals 
should be properly fed. Sufficient food and food of good qual- 
ity is necessary to keep the parents strong and healthy and in- 
sure vigorous offspring. Musty, mouldy, rotten, or dusty food 
should not be fed to animals intended for breeding purposes. 
Live stock relish clean, sweet, pure food as much as human 
beings do. 2. What has been said concerning food applies 
also to the water which animals have to drink. Clean and 
pure water, about 50° F. in temperature, is as important for 
animals as it is for man. The fact that a hog will wallow in 
the mud is no sign that clean water is not best for it to drink. 
3. Clean and comfortable barns and sheds are desirable for 
winter and cool, shady places for summer. Artificially warm 



THE BREEDING OF LIVE STOCK 271 

buildings are not desirable for live stock, for they have suffi- 
cient covering of hair to keep their bodies warm; but they 
should be kept dry and protected from the cold rains and 
chilly winds of winter and spring. 4. Exercise is necessary, 
especially for breeding animals. Exercise is nature's method 
of keeping the body vigorous. Animals should be in the open 
air in summer and be turned out in good weather during 
the winter. 

Good ventilation is also necessary when animals are stabled. 
To get such ventilation without having drafts of air over the 
animals, many stockmen are using muslin tacked over the 
windows instead of glass in the sash. The muslin permits an 
exchange of atmosphere but prevents drafts. 



CHAPTER XXXV 
SOME TERMS USED IN LIVE STOCK BREEDING 

In the breeding of live stock there are many terms and 
expressions used by stockmen which are not well understood 
by persons not engaged in such work. A few of these expres- 
sions will be briefly explained in this chapter. 

Heredity. — It is a common saying that like begets like, by 
which is meant that the offspring will inherit the qualities 
of the parents. If they are good animals and of good breed- 
ing the offspring is likely to be a good animal also. For ex- 
ample, if the sire or dam has a spavin, the colt will inherit 
a weak hock which will make probable the development of 
a spavin in it ; or if one or both of the parents are vicious, the 
offspring will probably show the same characteristics. We 
may say, then, that heredity refers to the passing on to the 
offspring of qualities possessed by the parents. 

Atavism. — This means a tendency for the offspring to be 
like the earlier types of the breed. It is best explained by an 
example. Angus cattle are now black in color, but in the 
earlier history of the breed many animals were red. It some- 
times happens that in pure-bred Angus herds a calf is born 
which is red in color, thus reverting to the earlier type. 
The same thing frequently occurs in Berkshire hogs. Pigs 
are farrowed with red hair in their coats, which doubtless 
comes from the color of earlier types. These examples serve 

272 



SOME TERMS USED IN LIVE-STOCK BREEDING 273 

to illustrate atavism. The term reversion refers to a resem- 
blance of the offspring to rather recent ancestors. A very 
striking case of atavism, and one hard to explain, is often 
called a *' sport"; for example, a calf white in color was born 
of pure-bred Galloway parents at Brookside Farm, Fort 
Wayne, Ind. Since Galloways have shown no other color 
than black for centuries, this was a most extraordinary 
event. 

Variation. — It is impossible for the offspring to be like both 
parents. It will have some of the characteristics of both, but 
will be more or less unlike either. This varying from the 
characteristics of the parents is called variation. It is well 
understood by stockmen that no two animals are exactly 
alike. Because of these variations it is possible for the stock- 
man to make selections for improving his animals. 

Correlation. — When the body is grea,tly developed in 
some particular part, some other part will be less developed 
than it should be, or else be modified in some way. As swine 
have increased their tendency to become fat the nose has 
become shorter. The dairy cow giving larger quantities of 
milk is always lean. The draft horse with his large muscles 
and strong bones is always slow in moving. All these are 
examples of correlation. The student desiring to know more 
about the principles of breeding should consult books written 
especially on the subject. It is a most interesting study. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 
THE FEEDING OF ANIMALS 

THE COMPOSITION AND USES OF FEEDS 

The farmer who raises animals needs to know how to feed 
them properly. Just as he needs to know the kind of soil to 
which a plant is adapted and the right kind and amounts of 
manure and fertilizer to apply to the land to make the plant 
grow properly, so does he need to know the composition of 
the various feeds and what effect they will have on these 
animals when fed to them. In the food fed to animals are 
found the elements necessary for the production of blood, 
bone, muscle, fat, milk, wool, and tissues of all kinds. When 
combined with the oxygen of the air, -heat to keep the body 
warm and energy for moving it are also supplied by the food. 

As soon as we begin to talk about feeding animals we have 
to use a number of terms which are not understood by every 
one. The various articles which are fed, such as hay, fodder, 
grain, meals, etc., are called feeding stuffs. These feeding 
stuffs are divided into two large classes; namely, nitrogenous 
and non-nitrogenous feeds. As the soil and the air contain 
a number of chemical elements which are necessary for the 
growth of the plant, so do these feeding stuffs contain many 
elements necessary for the animal body. Among these we 
may mention carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur, 

274 



THE FEEDING OF ANIMALS 275 

phosphorus, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, 
manganese, sihcon, chlorine, and fluorine. The line on which 
feeds are divided into the two classes just mentioned is not 
well established. 

Both of these classes contain all of the elements named 
above. However, we rarely speak singly of the carbon, hy- 
drogen, oxygen, and nitrogen which foods contain, but of the 
compounds which they form. In speaking of the composition 
of a feeding stuff we usually mention six things; namely, 
water, ash, protein, crude fibre, nitrogen-free extract, and fat. 

It is well known that all green plants contain much water. 
Water constitutes about eighty per cent, of the weight of 
green corn plants. Timothy hay has about fifteen per cent, 
and dry corn about ten per cent, of moisture. When this water 
is removed by heating in an oven at a temperature a little above 
boiling, the dry material left is referred to as dry matter. 

The ash of the plants is what is left after they are burned. 
If we were to burn a hundred pounds of corn kernels there 
would be left about one and a half pounds of ashes. The 
other ninety-eight and one-half pounds would have passed 
into the air as gases. Of the elements mentioned above, all 
would be left in the ashes except the carbon, hydrogen, oxy- 
gen, nitrogen, and chlorine. The elements that are left in the 
ashes are called mineral matter. Different feeds contain dif- 
ferent amounts of mineral matter. This mineral matter is 
very necessary for animals. Lime and phosphorus help to 
make bone; iron makes the blood red; chlorine and sodium 
help in digestion; and so the various other elements serve 
different purposes. 

Protein is the name given to the different forms in which 
nitrogen is found in feeds. Protein is the substance which 




63. FYVIE KNIGHT, A PUKK-l^liKl) ANGUS 
Grand Champion fat steer at International Live Stock Show, Chicago, Dec, 1908 



THE FEEDING OF ANIMALS 277 

builds tissues; that is, cartilage, tendons, and lean meat or 
muscle. Besides this, it enters into the casein and albumen 
in milk and seems to be a stimulator of milk and egg pro- 
duction. When necessary the body uses protein to make fat 
and to furnish heat to keep the body warm and energy with 
which to move it, but when an, animal is properly fed the pro- 
tein is not much used for such purposes. 

Crude Fibre is the tough, woody part of plants. It is com- 
posed mainly of cellulose and is not easily digested. Cellulose 
is the substance that makes the walls of cells and has the 
same composition as starch, but is not nearly as easily di- 
gested. Any food which is composed mainly of stems or has 
many hulls in it will contain a large percentage of crude fibre 
and will not be first-class feed. Grains have much less crude 
fibre than hay and fodder. For example, wheat contains 
about 1.8 per cent, and clover hay about 24.8 per cent, 
crude fibre. 

All feeds contain some oil or fat There is more fat in 
feeds derived from seeds like corn, oats, or cotton-seed than 
there is in hay. In the process of analysis the fat is dissolved 
out with ether, and for this reason fat is often referred to in 
tables of food composition as ether extract. Fat is composed 
of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and serves the same pur- 
pose in the body as the nitrogen-free extract. 

The nitrogen-free extract is what is left after the crude fibre, 
fat, protein, and ash have been removed. It, too, is com- 
posed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. According as these 
elements are united we have starch, sugar, gum, and other 
substances. Nitrogen-free extract and crude fibre are often 
spoken of as carbohydrates. The carbohydrates and fats are 
the fuel of the body. By the process of digestion they are 



278 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

changed just as wood or coal is changed in the fire and in the 
same way give heat. This heat furnishes warmth to the body 
and also energy for the action of the body. The carbo- 
hydrates and fat also form fat in the animal body, and from 
these comes the fat found in milk. 

Nearly all feeds have a large per cent, of nitrogen-free 
extract, but the per cent, of fat or oil is small except in such 
feeds as gluten feed and cotton-seed meal, where the per cent, 
may be as much as ten or twelve. The per cent, of nitrogen- 
free extract is usually somewhere around forty in hays, while 
in seeds it is usually from sixty to seventy-five. A feed which 
contains a good deal of protein and fat always has a lower per 
cent, of nitrogen-free extract. 

Besides the above terms roughage and concentrates are 
often used in speaking of feeds. Roughage refers to all 
kinds of coarse feed such as hay and fodder. Concentrates 
is applied to all grains and meals. 

The digestibility of a food has reference to the amount 
which becomes available for the use of the animal through the 
action of the various digestive juices in the alimentary tract. 
It is only the digestible part of the food which the animal can 
use for making blood, muscle, bone, etc. The undigested 
part passes off as solid excrement. The digested part which 
is not stored up in the body is passed off mostly in the liquid 
excrements along with the wastes of the body. 

The amount of a food which is digestible may be expressed 
in per cent., and this is called the coefficient of digestibility. For 
example, the average protein in shelled corn is about 10.3 
per cent, and its digestibility is about 76 per cent. Then in 
100 pounds of shelled corn there would be 10.3 pounds of 
protein, of which 76 per cent., or 7.828 pounds, is digestible. 



THE FEEDING OF ANIMALS 279 

The palatability of a food is important. By palatability we 
mean the taste of the food. If an animal eats its feed greed- 
ily, it is because it likes the feed, that is, the feed is palatable. 
Some feeds show a very desirable composition, but, because 
they do not taste good, animals will not eat enough of them 
to produce good results. Then, too, when a food tastes good 
the digestive juices in the mouth, stomach, and intestines are 
secreted in greater quantity to digest the food, and, conse- 
quently, a larger quantity of the food is digested and used 
by the animal. 

In the table of Digestible Nutrients (see Appendix.) it will 
be seen that the various kinds of feeding stuffs are grouped 
together. 1. Green fodder is a roughage fed green. The dry 
matter in green fodder is quite small. This is because green 
plants have a large per cent, of water in them. The amount 
of protein, carbohydrates, and fat in one hundred pounds of 
green fodder is small when compared with that in one hun- 
dred pounds of the dry fodders. 2. The dry fodders and hays 
are the green fodders cut and cured. The dry matter and 
food elements are large in this group. 3. The straws have 
a large amount of dry matter and crude fibre, but are very 
poor in protein and fat. 4. Roots and tubers have less dry 
matter and fewer food elements than any other group of feeds, 
except milk and its products. However, roots and tubers are 
valuable feeds, because of their good effect in keeping the 
digestive system of the animal in good condition. 5. Grains 
and other seeds are high in dry matter, protein, carbohy- 
drates, and some of them in fat. They belong to the concen- 
trates. 6. Mill products are nothing but the grains ground 
into meal. Their composition is not greatly different from 
the unground grain. The feeds given in the table up to 



280 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

this point may be called home-grown feeds, since they can all 
be produced on the farm. 7. Under the heading of waste 
products there is given a long list of products which are left in 
the manufacture of certain commercial products. For this 
reason they are often called by-products. For example, the 
gluten meals and gluten feeds are the waste products in the 
manufacture of glucose from corn, and brewers' grains and 
distillery grains come from the large breweries where alcoholic 
liquors are made. It will be noticed that nearly all of these 
feeds are high in dry matter and quite rich in protein and fat. 
The waste products are the group of commercial concen- 
trates. Nearly all are high-priced feeds owing very largely 
to their protein content. This group is often called the sup- 
plementary feeds, because they are used to fill out and bal- 
ance the home-grown feeds. 8. Milk and its products may 
be considered a home-produced group. While the dry matter 
and food elements in the group are quite low, yet every farmer 
and feeder knows their great value for feeding to swine. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 
BALANCED RATIONS AND FEEDING STANDARDS 

The food which is fed to an animal daily is called its ration. 
The digestible elements in the food are called nutrients. When 
the different digestible nutrients are in the right proportions to 
meet the needs of the body under a given condition without 
excessive waste, the ration is said to be in balance, that is, 
it is a balanced ration. A balanced ration may consist of a 
single food, but it is usually a mixture of two or more. 

It has been found that in a ration there does not need to be 
so much protein as carbohydrates and fat. The proportion 
of these nutrients varies according to the purpose of feeding. 
If milch cows are being fed, the proportion of protein to car- 
bohydrates and fat is larger than if fattening steers are being 
fed. The proportion of digestible protein to digestible carbo- 
hydrates and fat is called the nutritive ratio. When the pro- 
portion of protein is large the nutritive ratio is said to be 
narrow. When it is small the ratio is wide ; and when the 
proportion is medium the ratio is said to be medium. 

To determine the nutritive ratio of a feed or a mixture we 
multiply the digestible fat by 2.25, because it has been found 
that fat will produce 2.25 times as much heat as carbohy- 
drates, and add the product to the digestible carbohydrates. 
This sum is then divided by the digestible protein in the 
foods and the quotient placed as the second term in a ratio 

281 



282 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

with 1 as the first term. For example, oats (see Appendix) 
contain in every 100 pounds about 9.25 pounds of digestible 
protein, 48.3 pounds of digestible carbohydrates, and 4.18 
pounds of digestible ether extract or fat. Now 4.18 times 2.25 
equals 9.40; 9.40 plus 48.3 equals 57.70, and 57.70 divided 
by 9.2 equals 6.1 +• Therefore, the nutritive ratio of oats 
would be 1 : 6.2, which would be considered a medium ratio. 
According to Dr. Jordan, of the New York Experiment 
Station, a ratio less than 1 : 5.5 is a narrow 'ratio, above 
1 : 8.0 a wide ratio, and anything between these two may 
be considered a medium ratio. 

Many experiments have been made to determine how many 
pounds of digestible nutrients an animal should receive in its 
food each day, but the problem is largely unsolved. The 
amount needed is influenced by a great many conditions, 
some of the more important of which are the conditions and 
purpose of the animal, its age, and the conditions of tempera- 
ture under which it is kept. In general a young, growing ani- 
mal, or cow giving a heavy flow of milk, needs a ration having 
a rather narrow ratio, that is, a larger proportion of nitrog- 
enous foods. A mature animal or one laying on fat requires 
a ration of medium or wide ratio. 

Experimenters have attempted to arrange in tables the 
digestible nutrients necessary for animals of various ages and 
conditions. These tables are called feeding standards. How- 
ever, practical men have not found these standards very use- 
ful, and they are not generally used except as guides to intel- 
ligent practice. The practical man must always study his 
animals and the feed which he has available and so adjust 
them as to get the largest returns possible in the most econom- 
ical manner. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 

SELECTING ANIMALS AND METHODS OF FEEDING 

1. Selecting Animals to Feed.— There is a great differ- 
ence in individual animals as to the increase in weight or 
gain which they will make when being prepared for mar- 
ket. Men who have fed large numbers of animals have 
learned from experience to pick out those which will feed 
profitably. There are certain indications, like the shape and 
character of the head, the conformation of the body, the 
back, the coat of hair, and the quality of the bone, which 
mark an animal as being a good feeder. The following quo- 
tations from Circular 14, Purdue University Agricultural 
Experiment Station, give the characteristics of a good steer 
for feeding purposes. Since the same principles in general 
apply to sheep and hogs, the descriptions may be made 
applicable to all : 

A typical beef steer is bloeky and compact, has a short, deep 
body, short, thick neck, short, straight legs, straight back and underUne, 
an abundance of width from one end to the other, plenty of scale, or 
weight, and a 'feeder's head and eye.' The skilled feeder buyer pays 
more attention to the head than the inexperienced buyer would deem 
necessary, especially with stock cattle, which are not filled out suffi- 
ciently to judge as to their future development and probable form when 
finished. He will also realize at first glance whether or not the eye is 
one that indicates a quiet and contented disposition. 

The head should be broad, short, with full forehead, strong jaw, 
large mouth and nostrils, and free from either coarseness or delicacy. 

283 



284 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



If such a head is found on a steer in feeder condition, it is usually a 
guarantee that he will make good use of feed and develop into a thick, 
blocky individual when finished. A thick, short neck is desirable, not 
because of its intrinsic value, but because it usually indicates a thick 
carcass. 

A short, straight back indicates strong muscular development and 
a tendency to mature early. Other things being equal, the steer with 
the broadest and thickest back will be the most valuable, as the highest- 
priced cuts of meat are taken from the back and loin. For this reason. 




64. A HIGH-GRADE STEER IN "FEEDER" CONDITION 

He made a daily gain of 3.08 pounds for six months in a feeding experiment 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 



feeders should be selected which will develop wide, thick backs in order 
that they may sell for top prices when fat. A desirable depth of body 
and spring, of rib result not only in a greater proportion of high-priced 
meat but also give the steer the capacity for a large development of vital 
organs and ample room for a large digestive system without any ten- 
dency to paunchiness. 

Capacity for feed is essential in a feeder, as the body must be main- 
tained and provided with heat and energy before any of the food is stored 
in the form of fat. All that the steer can consume, digest, and assimilate 
above maintenance requirements is used for production; hence the 



SELECTING ANIMALS AND METHODS OF FEEDING 285 

greater the capacity the greater the proportion of feed that is utiHzed 
for production and the less for maintenance. 

Short, straight legs, together with a short, deep, broad body, are 
associated with early maturity. This is desirable from the producer's 
stand-point, as it enables him to market his cattle as feeders weighing 
1,000 pounds at 18 to 20 months instead of keeping them a year longer 
in order to attain the same weight. The early maturing steer will also 
sell for a greater price per pound, as the experienced feeder has learned 
that they will not only make rapid and economical gains but will finish 



05. A POOK TYPE OF STEER FOR FEEDING PURl'UrtE.S 

This Steer made a daily gain of .77 pounds for six months in a feeding experi- 
ment. Compare the form of this steer with that in Fig. 64 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 

more quickly than those which are slower in maturing. Not only is this 
type more desirable to the producer and to the feeder, but also to the 
packer, as the early maturing kind yield a higher dressing percentage, 
thicker cuts, and greater proportion of high-priced meat. 

In the stocker or feeder, quality is synonymous with capacity and 
early maturity. It is indicated by a thick, fine, bright, or oily coat of 
hair, a fine, hard, dense bone, and an appearance of refinement, smooth- 
ness, and symmetry throughout. Such a coat as described is generally 
associated with a healthy, pliable, and mellow skin; as the inner digestive 
organs are continuations and modifications of the outer skin, health in 



286 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

one usually indicates health and activity in the other, insuring a good 
use of food and rapid gains. Smoothness and symmetry, together with 
quality and beef type, shorten the fattening period. As the gains in the 
feed lot are expensive, this is an important factor in favor of the steer 
which possesses quality. 

Not only should a great deal of attention be given to quality in feed- 
ers because it insures less expense in finishing, but because it enhances 
the value of the finished or fat steer. Quality in fat steers when com- 
bined with beef type, means higher dressing percentage, even covering 
of fat on carcass, large proportion of high-priced cuts, better mixture 
of fat and lean, or marbling of meat, less waste in cutting, and finer mus- 
cular fibre, all of which make the steers with quality more valuable to 
the killer than those which are plain and coarse. 

Besides the above conditions of type and quality it is 
essential that the animals chosen for feeding be well bred; the 
offspring of pure-bred sires is always to be desired. Such ani- 
mals feed with more profit than low grades or scrubs. 

2. Methods of Feeding. — (a) Pasturing. — Grass is nat- 
ure's own food for our domestic animals. Pasturing or 
grazing is one of the cheapest methods of feeding. There is 
none of our farm animals which cannot be kept profitably 
during the warm season on good pasture. In some cases it 
seems advisable to feed a small quantity of grain in connection 
with the pasture. This is especially true for steers and pigs. 
It has been demonstrated that it usually does not pay to feed 
grain to milch cows when on good blue-grass pasture. 

Besides the grasses other crops are pastured, such as clover, 
rape, cow-peas, soy-beans, and corn. Clover is good pasture 
for all animals and particularly so for young pigs. Rape is 
excellent pasture for pigs and sheep, but some grain should be 
fed in connection with it. Care should be taken not to turn 
animals into rape when it is wet with dew because it will 
cause the skin of pigs to chafe and will produce bloat in sheep. 



SELECTING ANIMALS AND METHODS OF FEEDING 287 

Rape can be pastured by cows, but it may taint the milk and 
is also likely to produce bloat. Cow-peas and soy-beans are 
pastured to the best advantage with hogs. Standing corn can 
be pastured with sheep and hogs. The sheep will eat mainly 
the leaves, while the hogs will feed mostly on the ears. " Hog- 
ging off" corn is very frequently done in the corn-belt, and in 
dry autumns it is a satisfactory way of harvesting the corn 
crop. It is not advisable to pasture the same piece of ground 
at the same time with both sheep and hogs, because sheep do 
not like to feed where hogs have mussed over the stalks. It 
is also a common practice in the corn-belt, where not much 
corn is cut and put in shock or silo, to pasture the standing 
stalks, after the corn has been gathered, with all classes of 
farm animals, especially the young animals. This is a waste- 
ful practice, because much of the feeding value has already 
been lost by the leaves blowing away. Furthermore, most of 
the soluble part has been washed out by rains. This practice 
frequently is false economy on account of the harmful effect 
of trampling the soil when wet. 

(6) Soiling. — This is cutting the plants green and feeding 
them at once in the stalls or yards. This method of feeding 
requires a great deal of labor, but is economical in that a 
large number of animals can be kept on fewer acres. Pastur- 
ing always requires a large area of land, while soiling does 
not. Soiling is practised mostly by dairymen, but it should 
be used more than it is by all farmers who keep animals, 
especially in the warm, dry summer months when pastures 
are short and flies are bad. Some grain may be fed to ad- 
vantage in connection with the green plants. The various 
crops used for soiling have been discussed under Soiling 
Crops. 



288 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

(c) Feeding Dry Feed. — In the northern states all live 
stock has to be fed during the winter months. The farmer 
usually has only hay, straw, or stover for feed. The milch 
cows and work-horses usually receive some grain, but the 
other animals rarely receive any. This way of wintering 
animals is not the best, because the young animals need some 
grain to keep them growing. Then, too, all the animals keep 
in better health and make better use of their feed if some 
kind of succulent feed, like silage or root crops, is fed. 

Animals which are being fattened are usually fed heavily 
on dry feed, largely grain. Silage is not generally used by 
stockmen for feeding fattening steers, as its profitableness has 
not been fully proved. The question whether it pays to house 
or shelter live stock has been much discussed, and various 
experiments have been conducted to find the correct answer. 
The results of experiments seem to indicate that fattening 
animals do better when fed in open yards and with a shelter 
closed on two or three sides under which to sleep and seek 
protection from bad weather. In the case of animals which 
are not fattening, such as milch cows and young growing 
animals, it has been shown that housing in a well-ventilated 
barn with open yards to go into on pleasant days is best. 
Fattening animals create a great deal of heat in the digesting 
of their food, and as fat is produced some is laid on under 
the skill which helps to keep the animal warm. 

{d) Grinding and Cooking Feeds. — It is frequently asked 
whether it will pay to grind feed for animals, and whether 
cooking adds to its digestibility. These questions have been 
carefully studied by the various agricultural experiment sta- 
tions as well as by practical feeders. It is generally agreed 
that grinding the grain fed adds to its digestibility. The di- 



SELECTING ANIMALS AND METHODS OF FEEDING 289 

gestive juices have opportunity to act more completely upon 
ground grain than upon unground. Moreover, the animals 
waste less when feeding. However, the cost of grinding deter- 
mines whether it will pay or not. When grinding costs more 
than one-tenth of the value of the grain, it is not likely to pay. 

It may be briefly stated that cooking the food rarely pays. 
In many experiments animals have not done as well when 
fed cooked food as when fed raw food. Furthermore, the 
shredding of fodder and the cutting of hay do not usually pay. 

(e) Salt. — All live stock should be given the opportunity 
to get all the salt they want. Salt is not a food nor does it 
increase the digestibility of feeds, but it stimulates the secre- 
tion of digestive juices, tones up the digestive system, and 
makes the food more palatable. When common salt is used 
for salting it should be given regularly every few days, so that 
the animals do not eat too much. It should not be placed di- 
rectly on the food, but in a convenient place for the animals 
to take what they wish. Rock-salt is much used by stockmen. 
This kind of salt is in hard lumps, and the animals lick the 
rock until they are satisfied. 

(/) Pigs Following Cattle. — Cattle fed on grain do not 
fully digest all of it, and much of it passes through the animal 
and appears in the excrement. Every feeder knows the de- 
sirability of having pigs follow the cattle to pick up all such 
grain. In the case of fattening steers fed on corn, there will 
be enough grain in the droppings to keep in good growing 
condition one pig per steer. Feeders generally prefer a pig 
weighing about a hundred pounds. It often happens that the 
only profit made in fattening steers is in the gains made by 
the pigs following them, and the returns from increased yields 
due to the manure produced. 



SECTION V— DAIRYING 

CHAPTER XXXIX 
DAIRYING 

The human race has used milk and its products since the 
earliest times. The oldest writings speak of milk, butter, and 
cheese. There is scarcely a man, woman, or child in the civi- 
lized population of the world who does not use every day in 
some form the product of the dairy. The importance of an 
industry which concerns so many cannot be easily stated in 
words. 

It will be well to understand before going further what a 
dairy is. We are apt to think of a dairy as being a place 
where a large number of cows are kept and their milk pre- 
pared for use either as butter or for drinking. Such a place 
is truly a dairy, but the farmer who has no more than one cow 
and uses her milk for butter or for drinking also has a dairy. 
The only difference in the two dairies is the extent of the 
operations. 

Dairying, then, is the keeping of one or more cows and 
using the milk for drinking, butter, cheese, or some other 
milk product. Of course, we do not say that the farmer who 
raises hundreds of bushels of grain and keeps only one or two 
cows is a dairyman, but so far as he keeps cows and makes use 
of their milk he is engaged in dairying. He does not make 

290 



DAIRYING 



291 



dairying any large part of his business. If, on the other hand, 
a farmer does not use the milk for human use, but feeds it to 
calves or pigs, he is not engaged in dairying, but in the rais- 
ing of live stock to that extent. 

All dairies are not located on farms. There are many 
dairies in large cities where the cows are kept in stables all 




66. THIS IS A TYPE OF THE MODERN DAIRY BARN, FITTED FOR 

THE PRODUCTION OF CLEAN MILK 
Notice the possibilities for sunlight and ventilation. The cement floors aid in 
cleanliness 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 

the time and fed all their feed in the manger. Such dairies 
are engaged in supplying milk to the city population. How- 
ever, most of the milk is produced on the farm and a large 
part of the butter is made there also, although much of the 
butter sold in cities is made from milk brought to factories 
called creameries. 



292 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



In dairying the most important item is cleanliness. There 
is probably no article of food more difficult to keep clean and 
fit for food than milk. Every one means to be particular 
about what he eats, but the dirt which he eats in milk 
and butter would astonish him if he were to see it sep- 




67. A PROFITABLE HERD OF DAIRY COWS 

This herd made an average yearly record of 259.6 pounds of butter-fat per cow 
By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 



arated from the milk. To produce milk and butter of high 
quality and to succeed in a high degree, several things are 
essential. 

1. Necessary Equipment. — The equipment necessary is 
not large, but it should be suitable and of good quality. 
The vessels in which milk is to stand should be glazed earth- 
enware or heavy tin plate. The buckets into which the milk 
is drawn from the cow should be heavy tin and thoroughly 



DAIRYING 293 

clean. All joints and seams in the vessels should be soldered 
over so that they can be easily cleaned. 

A cool place for keeping milk is necessary. This may be 
a refrigerator, a cool cellar, or a trough in a shaded place with 
cold water running through the trough. Unless milk is 
quickly cooled after being taken from the udder and kept cool 
it will soon become sour and unfit to use. A well-ventilated 
ice-box is perhaps the best place for keeping milk, for in the 
ice-box the temperature can be controlled. Ice is a necessity 
in running a large dairy properly, and it is very convenient 
where only a small amount of milk and butter is handled. 

2. Adaptable Breeds of Cattle. — Of course milk, butter, and 
cheese may be produced from any of the breeds of cattle, but 
all breeds are not profitable for dairy purposes. The beef 
breeds do not produce enough milk to make them profitable. 
If one is engaged in producing milk, he should keep only 
such cows as give large returns for the feed which they eat. 
If the milk is made into butter, only such cows should be 
kept as give milk rich in butter-fat. Pure-bred or very high 
grade dairy breeds are usually to be preferred to scrub 
breeds. 

3. Industry. — There is probably no branch of farm work 
which requires more industrious attention than dairying. 
Cleanliness is always uppermost in the dairy business, and this 
requires work. Cows must be milked regularly at the same 
hour every day, and best results are obtained if the same per- 
son milks the same cow every time. This means that one 
must be every day at his work. 



CHAPTER XL 
COMPOSITION AND QUALITIES OF MILK 

Milk is a white liquid with a yellowish tinge. It is secreted 
from the blood by two large glands. These glands lie outside 
the body walls, being covered by the skin, and form the vdder. 
Each gland has two sections or quarters. From each section 
there is a tube or duct through which the milk is drawn. 
This duct is enclosed by fleshy walls and is called the teat. 
At the top of each teat there is a small cavity capable of hold- 
ing from one-half pint to a pint of milk. This cavity is called 
the milk cistern. Leading into this cistern are ducts from 
other parts of the gland. These ducts have their origin in small 
clusters of cells where the milk is secreted. There is a net- 
work of blood vessels extending throughout every part of the 
gland. The glands on the right and left sides of the udder 
have no connection whatever, and there is very little connec- 
tion between the front and hind quarters of either half. 

The udder contains very little milk at any one time. Most 
of the milk is secreted while the milking is being done. Just 
how this secretion takes place is not well understood, but we 
know that milk is a true secretion, because the elements which 
it contains are different from the elements found in the blood. 
The milk is kept from leaking out of the udder by a litUe 
muscle which draws the opening at the end of the teat tight 
shut. This muscle is called a sphincter muscle. Occasionally 

294 



COMPOSITION AND QUALITIES OF MILK 295 

this muscle is weak and does not close the opening tightly; 
then the milk leaks out. Sometimes it is very strong and does 
not let the milk out easily; the cow is then ''hard" to milk. 
The cow has some control over the sphincter muscles which 
guard the openings from the milk cisterns and can ''hold up" 
her milk. She does so usually only when scared or angry. 
A feed at the time of milking will cause her to forget her 
excitement. Excitement also hinders the secretion of milk 
in the glands. Kindness and quietness should always be ob- 
served in handling milch cows. 

Milk contains all the food elements necessary for the 
growth and development of young animals. In America the 
milk from the cow is the only milk that is used for human 
food, but in some countries the milk from the ass, mare, 
goat and ewe are also used. Cow's milk does not have a 
fixed composition. There are several things that affect it. 
Of these we shall speak in another paragraph. The com- 
ponent parts of milk may be grouped as follows: 1. Water. 
2. Albuminoids, namely, casein and albumen. 3. Fats. 
4. Sugar. 5. Ash. The last four items are called milk sol- 
ids. They may be arranged in oudine as follows: 

Water 87.5% 

/Ash 7% 

Milk/ I Sugar 4.7% 

Solids 12.5% Albumen 5% 

Casein 2.8% 

^Fat 3.8% 

The specific gravity of cow's milk is usually taken at 1.032. 

A study of the composition of the milk from the several 
kinds of animals shows that they vary a great deal, but all 



296 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

contain the same elements The specific gravity also is rather 
variable. The fat in milk has a tendency to make it lighter, 
while the casein, sugar, and ash tend to make it heavier. 

The fluid part of the milk in which the fat globules float is 
called milk serum. In the serum the milk solids are found in 
two conditions. The fat and some of the casein are in sus- 
pension, the rest of the solids are dissolved. 

The fat in cow's milk is the ingredient which varies most. 
The other solids are fairly constant. Although the average 
for thousands of samples is given as about 3.8 per cent., the 
range of percentages of fat is from 2 to 10 per cent. Very few 
cows give milk containing more than 7 per cent, of fat, while 
many give milk having 3 per cent, and less. 

There are several things affecting the per cent, of butter- 
fat. Briefly, they are as follows: 1. The individual cow. 
Some cows naturally give milk richer in milk-fat than others, 
although they may be of the same breed and receive exactly 
the same care. 2. The breed. At the New York (Geneva) 
Experiment Station it was shown that the milk of Jerseys 
was richer in percentage of fat than that from any other 
breed. However, the breed of a cow is not a sure sign of the 
richness of her milk. More depends upon the cow herself. 
3. Period of lactation. A cow gives her largest flow of milk 
after the calf is a few weeks old, but the per cent, of fat is larger 
usually after she has been giving milk for some time and the 
quantity begins to decrease. 4. Comfort. The comfortable 
cow will usually give richer milk than one that is uncomfort- 
able. 5. The first milk drawn is poorer in fat than the last 
drawn or "strippings." 

The feed which a cow eats does not affect the per cent, of 
fat very much. Many experiments have been conducted to 



COMPOSITION AND QUALITIES OF MILK 297 

find out if it is possible to increase the per cent, of fat in a 
cow's milk, but they have all failed to do so. The food does 
influence the quality of the fat, but not the quantity, except 
as it influences the amount of milk given by the cow. Cotton- 
seed meal makes the fat globules hard, while oil meal makes 
them soft. 

As was observed in the table, the specific gravity of milk is 
greater than that of water; that is, milk is heavier than water. 
The space which would hold 1,000 pounds of water would 
hold 1,032 pounds of milk. The sugar in milk gives it a 
sweet taste. Milk has an odor due to certain volatile oils in 
it. The yellowish tinge is given to it by the globules of fat. 
The milk from a fresh cow or one feeding on succulent feed 
has a more yellowish tinge than the milk from a cow old 
in milk or one fed on dry feed. Milk from Holstein cows is 
whiter than that from Jerseys. If fresh milk be tested with 
red litmus paper it will turn the litmus paper blue, showing 
an alkaline reaction; but if blue litmus be used it will be 
turned red, showing the presence of an acid. The acid con- 
dition is said to come from the casein, while the alkaline 
condition is the natural state of the rest of the milk. How- 
ever, if milk stands for a short time, it becomes definitely acid. 

Colostrum. — The milk which a cow gives while a calf is 
very young is quite different from ordinary milk and is called 
colostrum. It is especially adapted to the needs of the young 
calf, but is not at all fit for human food. The colostrum is a 
sticky, yellow, sweet milk, quite rich in albumen, and has 
less water than ordinary milk. Milk should not be used for 
human food until the calf is four days to a week old. It is 
safe to use fresh milk that does not coagulate when boiled. 
A purple precipitation in a test-tube after adding a little sul- 



298 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

phuric acid is also a sign of colostrum. Physicians in cities 
say that many children die every year owing to the colostrum 
in milk furnished by dairymen. 

Abnormal Milk. — Salty milk is sometimes obtained from 
cows. Its cause is not clearly known, but as a cure the cow 
should be dried off, that is, be allowed to stop giving milk. 
Bloody milk may be due to an injured condition of the udder, 
or it may be due to certain bacteria which develop after the 
milk has been drawn. Blue milk, yellow milk, ropy milk, 
and bitter milk are all due to certain germs which may get 
into milk after it is drawn and cause these various conditions. 
Bitter milk is sometimes also caused by food which the cow 
has eaten. Milk from a sick cow, or one in any way not in 
perfect health, should never be used for human food. 



CHAPTER XLI 

PRODUCING GOOD MILK 

To produce milk which is absolutely pure and fit to use for 
drinking, or for butter or cheese, requires more care than 
any other work on the farm. Careful attention must be 
given to the vessels in which milk is handled, the surroundings 
of the cows, the place where milk is kept, and the actual 
process of milking. The dairyman or farmer must realize 
the importance of keeping everything clean. 

1. It is necessary to know that milk is easily made unfit for 
use by dirt. The dirt which gets into milk carries with it 
many small, one-celled bodies, called bacteria. These are a 
form of plant life. With the proper temperature these bac- 
teria grow very rapidly. A single bacterium may increase so 
rapidly that in a period of twenty-four hours its offspring 
and their offspring may number many millions — all so small 
that they are not noticed. However, their presence in the 
milk causes it to become sour, and acids are formed which 
may be injurious if taken into the stomach. Disease-produc- 
ing germs, or bacteria, are often introduced through the dirt 
which gets into milk. Scarlet fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria, 
measles, and many other diseases may be carried and spread 
in this way. 

2. As was stated in Chapter XXXIX, the milk pails should 
be made from the best quality of tin, with all joints and 

299 



300 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

seams soldered over so they can be easily cleansed. All other 
vessels should also be constructed in the same way. All ves- 
sels in which milk is handled should be thoroughly washed, 
scalded, or steamed, and exposed to the sunshine after being 
used. Before being washed with hot water, milk vessels 
should be rinsed with cold water. The hot water melts the 
fat and cooks the albumen and makes it more difficult to 
cleanse the vessel. A little washing powder or soap added 
to the water is desirable. After the washing has been done a 
thorough rinsing with scalding hot water, or a good steam- 
ing, should be given. Exposure to sunshine is necessary, 
because sunshine is death to bacteria and is also a great 
sweetener and purifier. Milk is one of the best places for 
bacteria to grow, and when pails and cans are carelessly 
washed, or milk is allowed to dry in the seams and joints, 
bacteria multiply very rapidly. 

3. Milch cows should be kept in clean and healthful sur- 
roundings. The stables and yards should be clean and dry. 
Cows kept in dirty and foul-smelling stables cannot give milk 
of the best quality, nor can the milk gathered under such 
conditions be entirely pure. Milk takes up odors very read- 
ily. Hence it is impossible to draw milk in a foul-smelling 
stable without tainting it. The yards into which cows are 
turned in the winter and spring should be as dry as possible. 
It is not'good for the cows to wade in mud and manure, and 
some of the mud and filth which will get on the cow are sure 
to get into the milk at milking time. 

It is important that the stables in which cows are kept 
should be well ventilated. There should be space enough in 
the stable to give each cow about 500 cubic feet of air to 
breathe. There should be windows to let in the sunlight, for 



PRODUCING GOOD MILK 



301 



sunshine is a good disinfectant. The walls and floors should 
be tight so as to avoid drafts of air. Ceilings should be seven 
or eight feet high with a tight floor. In dairy districts tuber- 
culosis is very common among dairy cows, and it is partly 
due to the housing of cows in ill-ventilated, dark, and dirty 







68. UNFAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF CLEAN 

AND HEALTHFUL MILK 

During the cold months many milch cows are stabled in barns no better than this one 

By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 

stables. It is a good practice to groom the milch cow every 
day. Grooming not only keeps the skin clean, but also 
keeps it in a healthier condition. The manure which may 
get on the hind legs from lying down in the stall should be 
cleaned off every day, otherwise it collects in chunks, is un- 
sightly, and some of it is sure to get into the milk. 

4. Much dirt gets into the milk at milking time. When the 



302 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



COW has been lying down in her stall or in the field, more 
or less dirt and dust chng to her udder and the under 
part of her body. If this is not brushed off, it is sure to get 

into the pail when the 
milk is drawn. There 
is also always a great 
deal of scurf which 
rubs from the skin 
and drops into the 
milk pail. Therefore, 
before the milk is 
drawn the udder and 
the surrounding parts 
should first be care- 
fully brushed with a 
good bristle brush like 
that used for brush- 
ing horses. Then a 
moist sponge should 
be used to dampen 
the hair and skin. 
Sometimes it may be 
necessary to wash the parts well, but it is better to brush 
them off well unless they are very dirty. 

The milker should wash and dry his hands before begin- 
ning to milk and should keep them dry while milking. He 
should also brush his clothing well before beginning to milk. 
In many dairies the milkers put on clean white suits and 
caps before beginning to milk. The milking should be done 
quickly, so that as little as possible of outside dust can get into 
the milk. It is sometimes necessary to have a cloth over the 




69. 



AN UNKEMPT DAIRY COW 



Clean milk cannot be produced from cows kept in 
this condition 

By courtesy of the Illinois Experiment Station 



PRODUCING GOOD MILK 303 

top of the milk pail in summer when milking, so that no flies 
can get into the milk. The fly has many bacteria on its legs 
and feet, and these will be washed off into the milk, making 
it unclean. We need to realize more than we do that flies 




70. WASHING THE UDDER BEFORE BEGINNING TO MILK 

By courtesy of the Illinois Experiment Station 

are dangerous to health by reason of the dirt and disease 
which they carry. 

5. As soon as the milk is drawn it should be removed to 
another place, strained, and cooled at once. The place where 
the straining is done should be perfectly clean, free from 
odors, dust, flies, dogs, and cats. A fine wire strainer with 
eighty meshes to the inch should be used for straining the 
milk. 

Creaming. — By creaming we mean the separating of the 
butter-fat from the milk. Milk as it comes from the cow is 



304 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

called whole milk. After the fat has been removed it is called 
skim-mWk. It is not easy to separate the fat alone, so that 
some milk is also taken with the fat, and this is called cream. 
Cream is milk with a very large per cent, of fat in it. When 




71. A MILKING MACHINE AT WORK 

Many large dairies are using these machines. They lessen the labor of milking 
and keep the milk clean. The machine is operated by compressed air 

milk is allowed to stand in a vessel for some time the globules 
of fat gather at the surface and form the cream. A low tem- 
perature is favorable to the rise of the fat globules. 

There are four methods or systems of separating the fat or 
cream from milk; namely, by the use of shallow pans, by 



PRODUCING GOOD MILK 305 

deep setting, by dilution separators, and by centrifugal sepa- 
rators. 

1. In the shallow-pan system the milk is put into shallow 
pans or crocks and set in a cool place, usually the cellar, for 
twenty-four to thirty-six hours. The milk is from two to 
eight inches deep in the pan or crock, depending upon the ves- 
sel. The temperature of the room ought to be about 60° F. 
At the end of the time mentioned the cream is removed with 






72. THIS CUT SHOWS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EACH OF THE 
FOUR METHODS OF SEPARATING THE CREAM 
Note the small loss where the centrifugal separator is used: shown by the print 
at the left. By courtesy of the Indiana Experiment Station 

a skimmer. This is usually a slightly concave tin disk with 
a handle. One cannot get all the butter-fat by this system. 
The temperature is usually not low enough to induce all the 
fat to rise to the top. About one-fifth of the fat is lost by this 
system. The skim-milk from this system nearly always con- 
tains .5 of 1 per cent, or more of fat. 

2. In the deep-setting system the milk is put into cans 
about twenty inches deep and less than one foot in diameter 
and placed in cold water. The water used is cooled by ice so 
that it will bring the milk down to a temperature of 40° F. 
very quickly. It should be kept at this temperature for 



306 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

twenty-four hours, when nearly all of the fat will have risen 
to the top. This method is quite effective and the amount of 
fat left in the skim-milk is often not more than .2 of 1 per cent. 

3. A dilution separator is a can into which the milk is 
poured and then diluted with water, usually one-half. The 
can is made with a faucet so that the skim-milk can be re- 
moved from the bottom. The can is kept in a cool place or 
in cold water. When the milk is diluted the fat rises to the top 
more quickly. There are several objections to the dilution 
system: (a) The water used always has some germs in it. 
However, they may not always be injurious, (b) The cream 
obtained is not of the best quality, (c) The diluted skim-milk 
is not so good to feed to pigs or calves, (d) The fat is not all 
removed, as much as .7 of 1 per cent, or more may be left in 
the skim-milk. All experiment stations condemn the dilution 
separator. 

4. The centrifugal separator is a machine. The milk runs 
into a bowl which is revolved several thousand times per 
minute. The revolving has a tendency to throw the heaviest 
particles to the outside of the bowl. Since the fat is not so 
heavy as the other parts of the milk, it would, therefore, be 
crowded toward the centre of the bowl. The cover of the 
bowl is so constructed that the cream, or fat, can escape from 
the centre of the cover, while the skim-milk escapes from 
openings nearer the edge of the bowl. There are many dif- 
ferent kinds of separators and each has a differently con- 
structed bowl. Most bowls have inside parts intended to 
spread the milk out in thin layers so that the centrifugal force 
can act more completely. There are some bowls which have 
no inside parts. They are known as hollow bowls. The sep- 
arator does not separate the fat entirely by itself, but also 



PRODUCING GOOD MILK 



307 



takes some of the other parts of the milk with the fat. The 
separator takes the fat from the milk more completely than 
is done by any other system of creaming. A well-operated 
separator rarely leaves 
as much as .1 of 1 per 
cent, of fat in the skim- 
milk. 

When milk is creamed 
with a separator it is 
done by running it 
through the separator 
as soon as it is drawn 
from the cow. Milk 
can be creamed after it 
has cooled, but it must 
be warmed again to at 
least 95° F. and be 
thoroughly stirred up 
before running it into 
the bowl. There are 
many things to be 
learned about operating 
the separator, if perfect 
work is to be done. 
However, the companies selling the machines usually give 
full directions for operating them. The two most import- 
ant items are to have the machine set level, and to clean 
the bowl and its parts thoroughly after each time of using. 

Milk for City Delivery. — Many dairymen and farmers 
sell their milk direct to customers in the city. All that has 
been said about cleanliness applies to milk being prepared 




73- 



A GOOD KIND QF MILK COOLER 
AND AERATOR 



The milk is poured into the top and runs 
out of small holes, spreading over the surface 
of the lower part in which is ice-water 



308 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



for city customers. Milk intended for city customers is not 
creamed, at least only a small part of it. The most important 
item in preparing milk for city delivery after cleanliness is the 
cooling of the milk. This is often neglected. Cooling is nec- 
essary in order to have 
the milk keep sweet a 
reasonable time after 
being delivered to pa- 
trons. 

There are several de- 
vices for cooling milk. 
In all of them it is ar- 
ranged to let the milk 
spread itself over a con- 
siderable surface in a 
thin sheet. This sur- 
face is kept cool by 
cold water underneath. 
After running over the 
surface the milk flows 
again into a can. By 
this method of cooling 
the temperature should 
be reduced to at least 
60° F. Now, if it is 
delivered promptly and then set in a refrigerator by the 
housekeeper, the milk should be sweet and wholesome for at 
least two days, where, if it were not cooled, it would not keep 
longer than twenty-four hours. The cooling of the milk by 
spreading over a surface also aerates the milk, that is, exposes 
it to the air so that all odors escape. If the air of the milk- 




74. WHERE MUCH MILK IS BOTTLED FOR 
CITY DELIVERY, A MACHINE WHICH 
WILL FILL SEVERAL BOTTLES AT ONE 
OPERATION IS DESIRABLE 

This one fills four quart and five pint bot- 
tles at one time 



PRODUCING GOOD MILK 309 

room is perfectly pure this aeration improves the quahty of 
the milk very much. 

Milk which is delivered to city patrons should be bottled 
because it is cleaner. When each customer's amount is dipped 
from a can at each stopping place dust is sure to be intro- 
duced from the street. Also, the dippers and the vessel into 
which the milk is put are apt to have dust collected on them. 
Winds blowing the dust about city streets spread thousands of 
germs of all kinds. No kind of food should be exposed to this 
dust, and least of all milk. Keeping the bottles thoroughly 
clean is another important item in connection with city milk 
supply. They should be thoroughly scalded, steamed, and 
exposed to the sun. 



CHAPTER XLII 
BUTTER-MAKING 

Butter is a product of milk that has been known from the 
earliest times. The early methods of making butter were 
very crude and consisted mainly in agitating whole milk in 
bags of skin until the fat globules gathered into clusters. 
The handling of cream and the process of making butter have 
received much study, and many improvements have been 
made. 

Preparing the Cream. — On the average farm not enough 
cream is skimmed at one time to make a churning. It is 
necessary, then, to collect the cream from several skimmings 
or separations. If cream is separated with the separator it 
should be cooled at once to 40° F. or 50° F., and kept at that 
temperature until enough is collected for a churning. If 
cream is skimmed from pans, crocks, or cans it will not need 
to be cooled so much. The cooling is properly done by set- 
ting the cream in a can in ice-water and then stirring the 
cream slowly until it has reached the desired temperature. 
A dairy thermometer is a necessary article. 

It is common practice on most farms to mix the cream 
from each skimming with that of the previous skimming, but 
this is not best if one wishes to make a high quality of butter. 
The older cream is sure to become slightly sour, and when 
cream of different ages is churned together the churning will 

310 



BUTTER-MAKING 311 

not be complete and much fat will be lost in the buttermilk. 
The butter will also be lacking in flavor. The cream, then, 
from different skimmings, if possible, should be kept sep- 
arate and cool until enough is gathered for a churning. 
Then all should be mixed together, thoroughly stirred, and 
allowed to ripen. 

By ripening we mean the souring of the cream. Butter 
can be churned from cream which is perfectly sweet, and this 
is often done. Such butter is called sweet-cream butter. It is 
a delicate product and will not keep long. Most of the butter 
sold on the market has been made from sour cream and it is 
known as sour-cream butter. The term ripening is usually 
taken to include all the changes that take place from the 
time the cream is skimmed until it is ready to put into the 
churn. 

There are reasons for souring the cream before churn- 
ing it. 1. The churning is more completely done. By the 
process of ripening, the cream is made less viscous and the 
fat globules can move through it more easily. In churning, 
then, the fat globules are collected together more easily and 
completely and very little fat is left in the buttermilk. 2. The 
butter keeps better. It has just been said that sweet-cream 
butter does not keep well, but soon loses its good quality. 
Butter made from sour cream keeps its good quality for some 
time if properly cared for. 3. The flavor and aroma are 
increased. When cream has been properly ripened it has 
a pleasant odor and flavor. These are developed by the 
souring process. 

Cream is made sour by the action of bacteria. There are 
many species of bacteria which can make cream sour, but 
only a few of these develop the kind of sourness which gives the 



312 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

desirable flavor and odor to the butter. These are known as 
the lactic acid bacteria or ferments, for souring is a process of 
fermentation. 

There are two methods of souring cream; namely, natural 
and artificial. The natural method is the one commonly in use 
on the farm. It consists in letting the cream stand in a large 
jar or can at a suitable temperature, usually 60° to 70° F., un- 
til sour. The cream has a good many kinds of bacteria in it 
even when care has been taken to keep it clean. The lactic 
acid ferments are always present, and under favorable condi- 
tions they will develop and give to the cream that kind of 
sourness or acidity which will make butter of good flavor. 
But it often happens that conditions are not favorable for 
them, and this is especially true in the winter and early spring. 
This largely accounts for the poor quality of country butter 
at that time of the year. During the winter season milk and 
cream are often kept in the kitchen or pantry. In winter 
there is a lack of succulent feed and the period of lactation is 
usually far advanced. Under such conditions it is not easy 
to make butter of good quality. 

Cream may be ripened artificially in two ways: (1) By 
adding to the raw cream a starter; (2) by adding a starter to 
pasteurized cream. A starter is a specially prepared lot of 
whole milk, skim-milk, or buttermilk that contains the desired 
lactic-acid bacteria. A whole-milk starter is made by taking 
a quart of milk just as it comes from the cow (care being taken 
to have it absolutely clean), putting it in a quart fruit-jar, and 
letting it stand on a ^helf at a temperature of 70° F. for twenty- 
four hours. A skim-milk starter is made in the same way, 
but fresh skim-milk from the separator is used instead of the 
whole milk. A buttermilk starter is made by taking some of 



BUTTER-MAKING 313 

the buttermilk from a churning in which the butter has been 
of excellent flavor. A skim-milk starter is usually preferred, 
because it will contain the desirable bacteria in a larger pro- 
portion than either of the others. 

Another kind of starter is called commercial starter. It con- 
sists of a preparation containing the desired kind of bacteria. 
The preparation is made in special laboratories where every- 
thing is favorable to producing the right kind of bacteria. In 
liquid starters the bacteria are put up in sterilized bouillon, or 
milk. In powder starters the bacteria are contained in a 
powder of milk-sugar. Both kinds are good while fresh, but 
the liquid starter deteriorates more quickly than the powder. 
Commercial starters are used mostly in creameries, and fuU 
directions for use come with each package. 

Cream and milk are pasteurized by heating to a tempera- 
ture between 140° F. and 212° F., usually 160° F., for five 
minutes. Or temperatures of 155° F. for ten minutes or 
150° F. for fifteen minutes or 140° F. for thirty minutes 
may be used. These temperatures kill practically all the 
germs commonly found in milk or cream. Having killed the 
germs of all kinds, the butter-maker can introduce by means 
of the starter just the kind of germs desired. Some of the 
advantages claimed for pasteurization are: (1) A more uni- 
form quality of butter can be made; (2) many of the bad 
taints in the milk or cream are removed; (3) most of the 
germs are destroyed, and therefore the danger from disease 
germs, like scarlet fever, typhoid fever, etc., is lessened; 
(4) the keeping quality of the butter so made is increased. 
Pasteurization cannot be properly done without expensive 
machinery, and it is little used except by creameries and 
large milk plants. 



314 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

On the farm, cream is usually ripened by the natural 
method. In the summer it should be kept in cool water until 
enough is collected for churning. Then it should be thor- 
oughly mixed and set out of the water in the morning 
and allowed to ripen during the day. It can be set back in 
cold water in the evening and will be ready for churning in 
the morning. In winter the cream can be warmed up and 
allowed to ripen and then cooled. The best temperature for 
ripening is 65° to 70° F. The cream should be cooled to about 
50° F. again and kept at that temperature for several hours 
before churning. In the winter one may wish to use a starter 
to help along the souring process. About one-tenth as much 
starter as cream is about the right quantity to use, but this 
depends upon the richness of the cream ; a poor cream should 
have less starter. Cream is considered ripe when it has a 
thick, glossy appearance and smells and tastes pleasantly 
sour. The sourness is sometimes tested by an acid indicator. 
It should then show an acidity of .5 to .6 per cent. Care 
should be taken that cream does not become overripe, as 
overripe cream makes butter that soon becomes rancid. 
Care should be taken that the cream does not become too 
sour or the casein will be curdled and will appear as cheesy 
granules in the butter. Your Experiment Station will be 
glad to tell you how to make this test. 

Churning. — After the cream has been properly ripened and 
cooled to the right temperature for at least two hours, it is 
ready to churn. Churning is the collecting of the fat globules . 
into a mass. It is accomplished by agitating the cream in 
a vessel called a churn. In the process of churning the cream 
is whipped about from side to side or end to end of the churn, 
and the fat globules striking against each other stick together 



BUTTER-MAKING 315 

in gradually increasing clusters, until they become visible to 
the naked eye as pale, whitish granules. As the churning 
proceeds the cream gets so thick that it will scarcely move 
in the churn, but finally the cream "breaks" and the small 
clusters appear as distinct, yellow grains, and if the churning 
be continued they gather into a large yellow lump of butter. 
It is best to stop the churning when the yellow granules are 
about as large as wheat kernels. The liquid which separates 
out from the butter granules is buttermilk. It should be 
drained off as soon as the butter "comes." 

If butter color is used it should be put into the cream at 
the beginning of the churning. The amount to be used 
varies. Directions for use are usually on the botde. More 
color is needed in winter than in summer. 

A word should be said about churns. There are many 
kinds of churns. That kind of churn is best which has no 
inside parts. Inside dashers or paddles injure the butter 
granules and make the butter more or less greasy. Barrel, 
box, or swing churns are the best. The churn should always 
be made of wood, because the butter sticks to metal and is 
not easily removed. 

Something should be said also about preparing the churn 
for churning. No matter how well it was washed at the 
last churning it should be again thoroughly scalded with 
boiling water. Throw in a gallon or two of hot water, move 
the churn two or three times, and quickly draw off the water. 
Then just as quickly as possible throw in a gallon or two of 
ice-cold water and give the churn several turns. The hot 
water should not stand in the churn, for the heat will pene- 
trate the wood, making it warm, and this will warm up the 
cream. The purpose is to scald the churn and then cool it 



316 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

as quickly as possible. It may be necessary to add ice-water, 
or cold water, a couple of times, especially in summer. 

The cream when put into the churn should have a temper- 
ature of about 54° F. It will usually rise a couple of degrees 
in the churn, making the temperature 56° F. This is a desir- 
able temperature in summer. A temperature of 60° F. is 
often better in winter, especially if the cows are fed all dry 
feed, with no silage or roots. Furthermore, a higher tempera- 
ture is necessary if cows are old in their period of lactation. 
At the beginning of the churning it is necessary to ventilate 
the churn at each turn or two, if it be tightly closed, in order 
to allow the gases and expanded air to escape. 

Washing the Butter. — As soon as the churning is finished 
the buttermilk is drawn or poured off. A fine horse-hair 
sieve should be used to catch the small particles of butter 
which may run off with the buttermilk. After drawing off the 
buttermilk enough water should be put into the churn to 
float the butter nicely. The churn should be shaken gently 
in order to bring all the granules in contact with the water. 
After standing ten or fifteen minutes, this water should be 
drawn off and another lot put in and the washing repeated. 
This lot should be drawn off completely and should come 
away rather clear. If it is not clear, repeat the washing. 
The object in washing is to remove all the buttermilk. When 
the buttermilk is left in the butter it spoils its flavor and its 
keeping quality. The wash water used should be the purest 
obtainable and should have a temperature about the same as 
the churning temperature. If the cream has been churned 
too warm and the butter comes soft, the water should stand 
on the butter for some time until it hardens, perhaps an hour. 
Water too cold will make the butter lacking in flavor. 



BUTTER-MAKING 



317 



Working the Butter. — Butter is worked by removing it 
from the churn and pressing it with a lever or paddle. The 
purpose is to remove 
surplus water, to mix 
salt with the butter, and 
to compact the gran- 
ules together so that the 
butter can be put into 
packages for market 
or use. Butter can be 
worked best on a lever- 
worker. (See Fig. 76.) 
A wooden bowl and 
paddle are often used. 
It should always be 
pressed with the lever 
or paddle. A sliding 
motion destroys the 
granular structure and 
makes the butter salvy. 
A temperature of from 
45° F. to 55° F. is best. 
In summer it is not easy 75 a lever butter-worker 

to have this temoerature ^^ courtesy of the Wisconsin College of Agriculture 

In creameries the churning is done by mechanical power 
and the butter is worked without taking it out of the churn. 
The amount of salt added to the butter at the time of 
working varies, but is usually three-fourths of an ounce to an 
ounce per pound of butter. (A good platform dairy scales is 
a necessary iarticle.) The main reason for adding salt to 
butter is to improve its flavor. Most people prefer some 




318 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

salt in their butter. The salt used should be uniformly fine in 
grain and dry, and should be scattered evenly over the butter 
and worked in with the worker. It should all dissolve com- 
pletely. Sometimes butter is salted by using the salt as a brine. 

Preparing for Market. — Country butter is usually put 
on the market in pound prints, being moulded out with a 
wooden mould which puts just a pound in a package. Butter 
is also made into large rolls or packed into crocks or wooden 
tubs, depending upon the quantity. The pound package is 
the most desirable form, but whatever the form is it should 
be neat and attractive. If the package is wrapped neatly 
in a sheet of parchment paper on which is printed the 
name of the maker or his farm, it will help the sale of the 
butter. Creamery butter is usually placed in butter tubs and 
later made up into pound packages. 

Composition of Butter. — The composition of butter is not 
always the same, but on the average is about as follows : 

Fat 83% 

■ Casein, sugar, and ash 1% 

Salt 2.5% 

Water 13.5%, 

It is unlawful for butter to contain as much as 16 per 
cent, or more of water. The quality of butter is determined 
by its flavor, texture, color, salt, and the package. Your 
Experiment Station will be glad to send you sample score 
cards and explain how to score butter. 

In the successful handling of milk, making of butter, and 
managing a dairy business, a very great deal must be learned 
by experience. One who studies carefully the principles 
which underlie the work and then applies them in a practical 
way is sure to succeed. 



CHAPTER XLIII 
MILK PRODUCTS, OTHER THAN BUTTER 

Besides butter, the most important products made from 
milk are cheese, condensed milk, and ice-cream. The mak- 
ing of these products is the work of experts. In this chapter 
we cannot take the space to give much of the details con- 
cerning their manufacture. 

Cheese. — Cheese is a milk product containing a large pro- 
portion of the milk solids. All of the casein, nearly all of the 
fat, and about two-thirds of the ash in milk are to be found 
in cheese. The albumen and milk-sugar in milk are entirely 
lost in cheese-making. In the process of manufacture the 
most important item is the coagulating of the casein. In ordi- 
nary milk the casein is partly dissolved and partly in suspen- 
sion. Being an albuminous compound, it is easily coagulated 
either by heat or by acids. In cheese-making an acid is not 
used, but a ferment, which has a similar effect, called rennet 
Rennet is obtained from the lining of a calf's stomach. In 
the making of cottage cheese on the farm heat is almost always 
used to produce coagulation, but considerable lactic acid is 
also necessary before coagulation will take place. 

Cottage Cheese is almost always a home-made article. Sour 
skimmed milk is set on the stove and gently heated to from 
85° to 125° F. for an hour or more. The coagulated part or curd 
then appears separated from the watery part or whey. The 

319 



320 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

whey is separated from the curd by pouring off and by strain- 
ing through a cloth. Usually the mass is hung up in the 
strainer for a couple of hours and allowed to drain. After 
draining the curd is broken up by crushing in the hand. The 
curd is now salted to suit the taste and is ready for use. Usu- 
ally before serving, a small amount of cream, butter, or rich 
milk is mixed with it. Some persons like spices mixed with 
it also. Cottage cheese is usually served fresh. Cottage 
cheese is also known as Dutch cheese, pot cheese, and 
schmierkase. 

Cheddar Cheese. — While most of the cheese in America 
is made in regular cheese factories, in sections where dairying 
is the principal industry cl^eese is often made on the farm. 
The most common kind is that known as cheddar cheese or 
some modified form of it. The name cheddar comes from 
a town in England where the cheese was first made centuries 
ago. 

The process of making cheddar cheese, according to one of 
the best authorities,* is briefly as follows: 

1. Setting, — The whole milk is warmed to a temperature 
of 82° F. and ripened to the right degree of acidity, which is 
determined by an acid test. Rennet is then added at the rate 
of two or three fluid ounces per one thousand pounds of milk, 
and thoroughly mixed with the milk. The rennet coagulates 
the milk in ten to fifteen minutes, and in about thirty minutes 
the mass is ready to cut. 

2. Cutting. — This coagulated mass is called the curd. In 
order to remove the water from the mass it is necessary to cut 
the curd into small blocks. This is done by knives specially 
made for the purpose. The cutting is done crosswise, length- 

* Wing: Milk and Its Products. 



OTHER THAN BUTTER 321 

wise, and horizontally. After the cutting the mass is agitated 
gently to keep the cut surfaces from uniting. The little blocks 
shrink rapidly and squeeze out the watery part. This is 
called whey. 

3. Cooking. — The entire mass is now slowly warmed up to 
a temperature of 98° F. This has the effect of increasing the 
lactic acid and further shrinking the curd. During the heat- 
ing the mass is stirred slowly and gently at first, but more 
vigorously later. When the mass has reached 98° F. stir- 
ring is stopped and some of the whey may be drawn off, but 
enough must be left to cover the curd. When the curd is 
tough enough to stick to a hot iron and pull out in fine 
threads a quarter of an inch long it is ready for the next step. 

4. Cheddaring, or Matting: — The whey is now drawn off. 
The curd now mats, or cheddars, together in the cheese vat. 
When it is well matted it is cut into blocks about eight by 
eight by twelve inches. These blocks are piled two deep on 
top of each other, care being taken to put the outside faces 
inside. This helps the draining away of the whey. After 
a time the blocks are piled into larger piles, and later these 
into still larger piles, each time putting the outside surfaces 
inside. During this time the temperature is kept up in order 
to aid the production of lactic acid, which brings about vari- 
ous changes in the curd. The curd should now contain so 
much acid that threads two or three inches long will pull out 
when applied to a hot iron. 

5. Grinding. — By this time the whey has been well drained 
away and enough lactic acid has been developed so that the 
curd is ready for grinding. This is done in order that the 
curd may be salted and pressed into the form of the cheese. 
The grinding is done with a special machine called a curd- 



322 ARGICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

mill. The cut particles must be stirred to keep them from 
reuniting. 

6. Salting and Pressing. — Salt is added mainly for its 
effect upon the flavor. It also aids in making the curd drier 
and harder. Coarse salt is better than fine salt. It should 
be uniformly distributed, and the curd stirred until the 
salt has dissolved. During this time the temperature has 
been kept up until, at the salting, the curd has a temperature 
of about 90° F. When the salt is added the curd is spread 
out and cools off to about 80° F. 

The curd is now put into a press, of which there are various 
kinds. There is a form made of wood or metal into which 
the curd is put, after first lining it with cheese-cloth. There 
is a lid called the follower which fits just inside the form. The 
pressure is applied to this and it squeezes the curd into a com- 
pact mass. Pressure is kept up for twenty hours or more. 

7. Curing. — When taken from the press the mass of curd 
is called green cheese and is now set away to cure. This is 
done on shelves in a room where the temperature is about 
65° to 75° F. During the curing process many changes take 
place which develop the flavor and make the cheese digestible. 
In four to six weeks the cheese may be used, but it is better 
if more ripening is allowed, and will continue to improve up 
to three or four months, after which if it is kept in a cool 
place not too moist the cheese may be kept in good condition 
for a couple of years. 

What has been said about the process of making cheddar 
cheese applies in a general way to the making of many other 
varieties. In all there are said to be over one hundred and 
fifty kinds of cheese manufactured in America and Europe. 
When a cheese contains a considerable quantity of water it 



MILK PRODUCTS, OTHER THAN BUTTER 323 

is known as a soft cheese. There are several varieties of this 
kind. The removal of most of the moisture makes a hard 
cheese, and this is the common kind. When a cheese is made 
from whole milk it is called a full-cream cheese; when made 
from skimmed milk it is known as skim-milk cheese; when 
made from skimmed milk or whole milk to which other fats 
than butter-fats have been added it is a filled cheese. In the 
manufacture of some kinds of cheese fermentation is allowed 
to take place until certain well-defined odors are noticeable. 
These are fermented cheeses. Limburger cheese is an exam- 
ple of this kind. 

Although many kinds of cheese are made without especial 
attention to cleanliness, yet all that was said concerning care 
and cleanliness in handling milk, cream, and butter applies 
to the making of cheese, and especially American varieties. 

Condensed Milk. — Condensed milk is milk from which 
most of the water has been evaporated. The milk is evapo- 
rated in copper vacuum pans by the use of steam. This re- 
duces the bulk of the milk about two-thirds, but retains all 
of the solids. Condensed milk is put up either sweetened or 
unsweetened. It is used largely as a food for babies, but this 
use is not desirable unless cow's milk of good quality is not 
obtainable. Condensed milk is also used by confectioners, in 
lumber camps, on ocean liners, and by all travellers who have 
to carry their supplies with them. In the making of con- 
densed milk the matter of cleanliness reaches its highest 
perfection. 

There is also a product called milk-powder, made by evapo- 
rating milk to dryness. 

Ice-Cream. — Ice-cream is made from rich whole milk or 
from rich cream. The latter is the better. Ice-cream consists 



324 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

of milk or cream, sugar, eggs, flavor, and sometimes corn- 
starch or gelatine, prepared according to recipe, and frozen. 
There are many recipes; some require fewer than the above 
items, others more. 

Renovated or Process Butter. — Renovated butter is 
made from bad butter which has been bought up by dealers. 
There are certain factories which take the poor butter and 
melt it, clarify it, aerate it, ripen it, and then churn it with 
a starter of fresh milk, cream, or skim-milk. They also 
remove the bad odors and color the butter attractively. 
For a time much of this worked-over butter was sold as 
creamery butter, a fraud, but now the law requires it to be 
plainly labelled "Renovated Butter," and also collects a tax 
on it. This is done in order to encourage the making of good 
butter. 



J 



CHAPTER XLIV 
TESTING MILK 

Milk is commonly tested for two purposes: (1) To deter- 
mine whether or not it has been adulterated with water; 
(2) to determine the per cent, of butter-fat. 

1. As was mentioned in a previous chapter, milk is heavier 
than water, ordinarily .032 heavier, that is, its specific gravity 
is 1.032. It is very rare for pure milk to have a specific grav- 
ity less than 1.029. If water has been put into milk to any 
extent, the specific gravity will go below 1.029. An instru- 
ment resembling a floating thermometer has been devised 
for determining the specific gravity of milk. This instru- 
ment is called a lactometer. The glass tube is graduated some- 
what like that of a thermometer. There are two common 
forms of lactometers, the Board of Health lactometer and the 
Quevenne (Kwi-ven') lactometer. These are graduated dif- 
ferently, but give the same results. 

When the lactometer is put into the milk it will sink to a 
certain point. The Board of Health lactometer should not 
sink below 100, the Quevenne not below 29. Then by read- 
ing the figures on the glass tube one can tell the specific 
gravity of the milk and from these whether the milk is pure 
or not. It should be remembered that the lactometer test is 
not absolutely reliable, but in any case of doubt further 
investigation can be made. 

325 



326 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



Lactometers are made to use with the temperature of the 
milk at 60° F. For each degree above this .1 of a lactometer 
degree is added to the reading*, or subtracted, if the tempera- 
ture is below 60° F., when using the Quevenne lactometer. 
When using the Board of Health lactometer one degree of 




76. A BABCOCK MILK TESTER AND TESTING OUTFIT 



change is made for each three degrees of temperature. The 
temperature should never vary much from 60° F. for good 
results. 

2. There have been several schemes devised for determin- 
ing the per cent, of fat in milk, but at the present time there 
is practically but one used in this country. This is known as 
the Babcock test, and was invented by Dr. Babcock of the 
Wisconsin Experiment Station. In this test all the milk solids 
except the fat are dissolved by sulphuric acid, then by means 
of hot water and centrifugal force the fat is floated on the 



TESTING MILK 327 

surface of the fluid and read off in the graduated neck of a 
specially constructed glass bottle. 

For making the test 17.6 cubic centimeters of milk is 
measured out with a marked pipette and put into a test 
bottle. (See Fig. 77 for the different articles used in making 
this test). Now 17.5 cubic centimeters of sulphuric acid is 
measured out and poured into the test bottle in such a way 
that it washes down any milk on the side of the neck and 
runs under the milk at the bottom of the bottle. The sulphuric 
acid curdles the milk at first, but the curdled part is soon 
dissolved. The sulphuric acid used must have a specific 
gravity of from 1.82 to 1.83. 

Aher the acid has been added, the test bottle is shaken by 
hand with rotary motion. The bottle should be grasped by 
the neck near the bulb, and care should be taken not to shake 
any curd up into the neck. The mixing of the acid and milk 
creates a good deal of heat, and the test bottle becomes quite 
hot and the contents very black. When the shaking has gone 
far enough the curdled portion has all dissolved, and the con- 
tents are uniformly black with no fragments floating in it. 

The test bottle along with others is now set in the pockets 
of the centrifuge and whirled at a speed of 900 to 1,000 revo- 
lutions per minute. Most of the small centrifuges are run by 
hand, while the large ones are operated by steam. The whirl- 
ing is kept up steadily for five minutes. The revolving is then 
stopped and each test bottle is filled to the neck with boiling 
hot water. They are then whirled again for two minutes at 
the same speed. The machine is again stopped and the bot- 
tles filled with more hot water up to the 8 or 9 per cent. mark. 
Again they are whirled for one minute. The fat has now all 
collected into the neck of the bottle and stands out distinctly 



328 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

from the rest of the contents and is ready to be read. The 
figures opposite the long marks indicate the per cent., while 
the short marks indicate tenths of one per cent. The reading 
is done by subtracting the figure at the bottom of the fat 
column from that at the extreme top of the column. A pair 
of dividers is useful to aid the eye in reading correctly. The 
reading should be done quickly while the fat is hot. 

For the testing of cream a bottle with a large neck and 
graduated up to 35 per cent, or more is used. In the testing 
of cream 18 grammes is weighed into the bottles. For skim- 
milk and buttermilk a bottle with two necks is used. One is 
large, for putting the acid and milk into, and the other is quite 
small, and in this the fat gathers and is read off in hun- 
dredths of one per cent. 

The taking of the sample for testing is a very important 
matter. In the case of whole milk it is best to take a sample 
as soon as the milk is drawn from the cow, and in that case 
the milk should be poured from one bucket to another two 
or three times in order to get it thoroughly mixed. If the 
milk has become cold and the cream has risen it will take a 
great deal of pouring and mixing to get the fat globules com- 
pletely distributed again. The sample may be put into a small 
bottle. The sample for testing is taken from the larger 
sample by means of a pipette and put into the test bottle. 
The testing is done at convenience. The same care in mixing 
should be taken with cream or skim-milk. 

If it is desired to get an average of the fat produced by a 
cow in a week, without testing each milking, a small sample 
is taken at each milking and put into a pint fruit-far. A bit of 
bichromate of potash or corrosive sublimate should be put 
into the bottle to keep the milk from souring. If it sours a fair 



TESTING MILK 329 

sample cannot be taken for testing. Such samples are called 
composue samples. They are tested at the end of a week and 
show the average per cent, of fat. The composite samples 
are used at creameries where each patron's milk is tested 



CHAPTER XLV 

ABOUT BEES 

It is hoped that every one who reads this chapter will try to 
find out more about bees than is told here. Bees are most 
interesting and valuable insects. Many a person has spent 
his entire life in studying bees and working with them. They 
have been kept, studied, and written about from the earliest 
times. Every one likes honey to eat, and every farm could 
easily support some bees and furnish the delicious food for 
the farmer's table. 

Bees can be kept in various places. An orchard used as a 
sheep pasture is an ideal place for bees. The sheep will keep 
the grass short and the trees give shade. It is desirable to keep 
the grass or weeds from growing tall in front of the hive, as 
bees returning home heavily laden will become entangled in 
the tall grass and be unable to get into the hive. Bees have 
been successfully kept on the roofs of large buildings in cities. 
Many persons living in the city keep bees in their back 
yards. 

When America was first colonized there were no honey- 
bees north of Mexico. The early settlers brought with them 
what are known as the black or German bees, and the wild 
bees now found are descendants from swarms which escaped. 
Some years ago bees from other countries were brought here. 
The Italian bees have met with the most favor. In fact, 

330 



( 



ABOUT BEES 



331 



scarcely any other kind is now kept. Some of the other races 
of bees are Cyprian from Cyprus; Syrian from the Holy 
Land; Egyptian from Egypt; and Corniolan from Corniola, 
Austria. The Italians are so much liked because they are 
gentle and do not often sting. When Italians become crossed 
with other races, the hybrids are usually very nervous and 





j^V^>vjJ 




M 






■ii^L . 


VnT^ 


^H^^^^^H 




tm^^^^^S^'^, ^:l"'^KtltM 


■■H 


^EE^^^^^H 






i^H 



:-fii • 



77. LOCATION OF APIARY 
The trees give shade and the fence and building protect from wind. 

irritable. The Cyprians probably gather more honey than any 
other race. There is record of one colony of these bees hav- 
ing gathered one thousand pounds of honey in one season. 

A colony or swarm of bees at the beginning of the honey 
season usually consists of 30,000 to 40,000 worker bees, a 
queen, and perhaps several hundred drones. Besides these 
there are several combs containing young bees not yet fully 
developed. 

The honey-bee is developed from an egg just like other in- 
sects. (See Chapter XXVII.) The queen bee lays the egg in 



332 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



the bottom of a six-sided cell. The egg hatches in three days; 
the larva is fed by the nurse bees for five days; then the larva 
turns to a pupa and remains in this condition for thirteen 
days; and at the end of twenty-one days from the laying of 
the egg the young bee comes out of the cell. In a couple of 
days it is ready to begin its life work. Queen bees hatch out 




78. SHOWliNG QUEEN, WOKKEK, AND DRONE 



in about sixteen days from the laying of the egg, while for 
drones the time is twenty-four days. 

The worker bees compose the majority of the hive. The 
first work for the worker bee after it is developed is to act as 
a nurse and feed the other larval bees in their cells. The food 
consists of a kind of bee milk secreted from glands in the 
head of the nurse. On the third day honey is added, and a 
little later pollen, and at the end the larva receives practically 
nothing but pollen. After acting as a nurse for a week or 



ABOUT BEES 333 

more, the young worker begins to take short flights outside 
of the hive, as though it were taking exercise. Finally, after 
a couple of weeks spent in learning household duties, the 
young bee begins field work in gathering nectar and honey. 
All worker bees are undeveloped females. The life of a 
worker is about one and a half to two months during the busy 
season, so the supply of workers must be constantly replen- 
ished. 

The queen bee is hatched from the same kind of egg as 
the workers and is fed the same food at the start, but the rich 
bee milk is continued all through the feeding period, so that 
the queen larva grows larger and develops faster than the 
others. After she hatches out she runs about over the combs 
for exercise and looks for other queens or queen cells. If two 
queens meet there is a fight and it continues until one is dead. 
If other queen cells are found the larvae are stung to death. 
After establishing her supremacy the queen bee leaves the 
hive to meet some male, a drone, in the open air. Mating 
takes place on the wing. After this marriage flight the queen 
returns to the hive, never to leave it again unless it be to go 
with a swarm. She sets to work at once laying eggs. She 
deposits a single egg at the bottom of each empty cell. In 
busy times a queen can lay as many as three thousand eggs 
in a day. A queen bee lives four or five years, but her great- 
est usefulness is during the first two or three years. 

The drone is the male bee. There is usually a large num- 
ber of these hatched during a season, although not nearly so 
many as there are of workers. The drone does no work. He 
is not fitted by nature for the carrying of pollen nor the 
gathering of honey, so he must live off the stores of the hive. 
This is permitted so long as the honey supply from flowers is 



334 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



plentiful, but when this decreases the worker bees sting the 
drones to death and throw them out the door of the hive. The 
drone has no sting and cannot defend himself. It is said 
that the antennae of the drone has 37,800 little smelling 
organs.* 

Honey is made from the nectar of flowers, a drop or more 
of which is found in the base of the corolla of the flower. The 




79- 



A MASS OF HONEY-COMB 



bee sucks this into a honey sac inside its body and carries it 
to the hive where other w^orkers take it, evaporate some of the 
water, add certain substances, and deposit it in the honey 
cells. These cells are not capped over as soon as they are 
full, but the honey is allowed to ''ripen" first. A honey-bee 
will collect honey from flowers within a radius of two or three 
miles from the hive. If there are many flowers of the same 
kind in blossom at one time, the bees will collect from only 
* Comstock : How to Keep Bees. 



ABOUT BEES 335 

one kind while they last. In this way honey is made from the 
nectar of just one kind of flowers at a time, and we get sweet- 
clover honey, or white-clover honey, or buckwheat honey, 
according to the kind of flower drawn from. When there are 
only a few flowers of one kind the honey is made from the 
nectar of all kinds of flowers. 
The worker also gathers the pollen from flowers into a 




A MODERN BEE-HIVE AND ITS PARTS 



** pollen basket" on her hind legs. This is carried to the hive 
and made into bee-bread and used for feeding larvae. 

Bees also gather a substance caUed "bee-glue" from the 
buds of trees. This "bee-glue" is properly called propolis 
and is used for stopping up holes or cracks in the hive. The 
whole inner surface of the hive is also coated over with this 
substance, and movable parts are stuck together with it. 

The amount of honey which a swarm of bees will produce 



336 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



in a season will depend largely upon the supply of flowers and 
the vigor of the swarm. A strong swarm in a good season will 
produce a surplus of 20 pounds of honey in the comb, or 30 
to 35 pounds of extracted honey.* To extract honey, the 
combs are taken out, the caps carefully cut off the cells and 
then thedecapped combs are whirled in a centrifugal machine 
called an extractor. The empty combs are then replaced in 




8l. AN APIARY IN WINTER QUARTERS 



the hive and the bees can go to work filling the empty cells 
at once, thus saving the time of making new combs. 

Almost any kind of empty box can be used for a bee- 
hive, but where bee-keeping is done properly modern hives 
are used. A good hive is a box-like affair with a removable 
top and bottom. An opening, a small slot, is made at the 
bottom in one side for the bees to enter. There should be 
a ledge by this opening for the bees to alight on when return- 
ing to the hive. Inside the box are hung frames containing 
* Farmers' Bulletin, No. 59. 



ABOUT BEES 



337 



honey-combs. These the bees will use for storing honey and 
pollen, and for brood cells for the young larvae. They will 
also build additional cells as needed. When these frames 
have become filled with honey and brood, a section called a 
super can be put on top of the main box and the top placed on 
it. This super may contain small frames which when filled 




HIVING A SWARM OF BEES 



will hold one pound of honey each. The bees soon begin to 
fill the frames in this super, and as soon as all frames are full 
the super can be removed and replaced by another. In re- 
moving these supers the bees are driven down into the lower 
box by smoke or are brushed off gently with a brush. 

In cold climates bees will need some protection in winter. 
Frequently this is done by shedding over with boards and 
covering with cornstalks or straw, but professional bee-keep- 



338 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

ers usually pack the hives inside a larger frame, or pack the 
top and sides with papers or straw matting. The doorway 
should always be left uncovered so that bees can get out on 
warm days. Some keepers store their bees in cellars or sheds. 
In spring all these coverings should be removed. 

Usually in June, when the queen is very active in laying 
eggs, the hive gets so full of young bees that there is no 
longer room and swarming takes place. When a swarm 
comes out it usually settles on the limb of a tree near by, and 
if undisturbed after a time it will take flight and go away to 
some hollow tree or crevice previously determined upon. 
After a swarm has settled, a hive should be brought and 
placed near with a sheet under it. The limb should be cut 
off carefully and the swarm jarred off in front of the hive door. 
If the limb is near the ground it is not necessary to cut it. 
As soon as the queen enters the hive the rest follow and settle 
in their new home. The hive can later be removed to the place 
where it is to stand. The hive used should be cool, as bees 
will not enter a hot hive. There should be in the hive some 
frames containing empty comb for the bees to go to work on. 

There is much more to be written about bees but it cannot 
be said here. One thing is to be kept in mind : bees should 
always be handled gently and without any show of fear. 
The Italian races of bees will rarely sting if carefully handled. 
Bee-keepers frequently wear veils and gloves to protect them- 
selves while handling their bees. 



CHAPTER XLVI 
POULTRY 

ORIGIN AND BREEDS OF POULTRY 

The term 'poultry is applied to chickens, ducks, geese, tur- 
keys, guineas, and peafowls. While the last two mentioned 
are of very little importance, the other four are much more so 
than is generally supposed. The Secretary of the United 
States Department of Agriculture states that the value of the 
poultry and eggs produced on farms in 1907 was more than 
six hundred million dollars; also, that the poultry products 
are worth more than the wheat and perhaps as much as the 
hay raised in the United States. 

Probably all kinds of poultry, with the exception of turkeys, 
had their origin in Asia. The so-called jungle fowl of India 
is thought to be the original of our chickens. Very much has 
been done by poultrymen in the production of new breeds 
and the improvement of old ones. Chickens have received 
more attention than ducks and turkeys, and geese have had 
scarcely any study. 

Chickens. — In the revised edition of Farmers' Bulletin 
No. 51, it is stated that there are 104 standard varieties of 
chickens in this country. Besides these there are several 
miscellaneous 'sTarieties. A standard variety is one which con- 
forms to the description of that variety by the American 
Poultry Association. Perhaps the best way to classify this 

339 



340 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

large number of varieties is as in the bulletin mentioned: 
1. American. 2. Asiatic. 3. Mediterranean. 4. English. 
5. Polish. 6. Dutch. 7. French. 8. Game and Game 
Bantam. 9. Oriental Game and Bantam class. 10. Orna- 
mental Bantam class. 11. Miscellaneous. 

These classes may also be arranged according to their use- 
fulness, but in so classifying it is necessary to name individ- 





83. PLYMOUTH ROCK COCK AND PULLET 

ual breeds in some cases. The classes according to useful- 
ness are as follows: 1. General purpose, including the Ameri- 
can class, the Orpingtons, and Houdans. These breeds are 
both good egg and good meat producers. 2. The meat or 
table breeds, including the Asiatic class, the Dorkings, and 
the Indian Games. 3. The egg breeds, including the Medi- 
terranean class, the Dutch class, and the Red Caps. 4. The 
ornamental breeds, including all the remaining classes and 
breeds. 



POULTRY 



341 



1. The American class comprises the Plymouth Rocks, 
Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds, Javas, Buckeyes, and 
American Dominique. There are two or three or more vari- 
eties each of most of these breeds, as, for example, there are 
six varieties of Plymouth 

Rocks, the Barred, Buff, 
White, Silver - pencilled, 
Partridge, and Colum- 
bian. Of this class the 
first three breeds are best 
known and most widely 
raised. There are prob- 
ably more Plymouth 
Rock chickens raised 
than any other breed. 
The breeds in the Ameri- 
can class are considered 
general - purpose breeds 
because they are all excel- 
lent layers and at the 

same time are good table fowls. The breeds in the Ameri- 
can class are all of American origin. 

2. The Asiatic class contains the Brahmas, Cochins, and 
Langshans. Each of these breeds has two or more varieties. 
This class contains the largest breeds of chickens. They are 
more valued for their meat production than for their eggs, 
although they are fair layers. They are more inclined to brood 
than most breeds and make excellent mothers. Fowls of these 
breeds have their shanks and toes more or less covered with 
feathers. 

3. The Leghorn, Minorca, Andalusian, Ancona, and 




A RHODE ISLAND RED 



342 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



Spanish breeds belong in the Mediterranean class. These 
are of European origin, mostly from along the coast of the 
Mediterranean Sea. The Leghorn and Minorca families are 

best known and most 
widely distributed. The 
breeds of this class, and 
especially the Leghorns 
and Minorcas, are fa- 
mous as egg-producers. 
Practically all of the 
breeds in this class lay 
white-shelled eggs, while 
the eggs of nearly all the 
breeds in the other 
classes have tinted shells. 
The Mediterranean 
breeds are smaller in 
size than any others, ex- 
cept those in Classes 8, 
9, 10, and 11. They are 
non-sitters, that is, they 
rarely want to sit, and 
this is a desirable trait where one wants eggs. 

4. The English breeds are the Dorkings, Red Caps, and 
Orpingtons. The Dorking is the oldest breed of chickens. 
These fowls have five toes on each foot, a condition not found 
in any other breed except the Houdan. The Red Caps are also 
an old breed. They have too large a comb to become popu- 
lar as a farm fowl. They are good layers and their flesh is of 
excellent quality. They are non-sitters. The Orpington breed 
is one of the latest breeds, and because of its high quality as 




BUFF COCHIN 



Contrast the Cochin with Plymouth Rock and 
Rhode Island Red 



POULTRY 



343 



an egg and flesh producer has gained a great reputation. 
In 1908 Madame Paderewski, wife of the famous pianist, 
paid Mr. Ernest Kellerstrass, of Kansas City, Missouri, $7,500 
for five White Orpingtons. At the same time Mr. Keller- 
strass refused $2,500 for a prize hen of this breed. 

5. The Polish class is composed of one breed of which 
there are several varieties. This class probably had its origin 
in Poland. It is an ornamental rather than useful class, 
although Polish hens are fair layers. The head of both the 
hen and cock has a large crest, or top-knot, of feathers, so 
large oftentimes as to hin- 
der the seeing of the 
bird. 

6. The Hamburg breed, 
of which there are six 
varieties, represents the 
Dutch class in this coun- 
try. They are excellent 
layers and have become a 
popular breed. 

7. The best-known of 
the French breeds is the 
Houdan. Besides the Hou- 
dan the Crevecoeurs, La 
Fleche, and Faverolles be- 
long to this class. All but 
the La Fleche are large. 
They are fair layers and 
good table fowls. The Houdans and Crevecoeurs have crests. 

8 and 9. The various breeds included in the game class are 
fair layers and good table fowls. Those known as Pit Game 




86. 



PRIZE WINNING BROWN LEGHORN 
HEN 



344 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



are very well adapted to the farm. The Exhibition Games 
are considered not quite so good for the farm, not being hardy. 

The Game Bantams are 
simply dwarf Exhibition 
Games and are not 
profitable for the farm. 

10. The Ornamental 
Games are of several 
varieties. They are kept 
mainly as pets and are 
not satisfactory as lay- 
ers or table fowls. 

11. The Miscellane- 
ous class comprises sev- 
eral varieties little 
known in this country 
and kept mainly as cu- 
riosities. The Sultans 
have a remarkable crest. 
The Silkies have soft, 

loose, fluffy feathers standing out in all directions from the 
body. The feathers of the Frizzles curve upward and back- 
ward at the end and give the birds a very odd appearance. 
Ducks. — It is said that more ducks are raised in China 
than anywhere else in the world and that the United States 
stands next to China in duck-production. There are ten 
standard varieties raised in the United States ; namely, Ayles- 
bury, Rouen, Pekin, Cayuga, Call, East India, Indian Run- 
ner, Blue Swedish, Muscovy, and Crested White. The last 
is mainly ornamental, the Call and East India are bantams, 
while the Pekin, Rouen, Indian Runner, and Aylesbury are 




87- 



A BUFF ORPINGTON HEN 



i 



POULTRY 



345 




A PAIR OF PEKIN DUCKS 



the most popular and 

profitable. The Pekin is 

the one mostly raised on 

the duck ranches. The 

Indian Runner duck is 

the best layer of the duck 

breeds and is being 

kept more and more 

for egg-production. It is 

thought that all breeds of 

ducks, except the Mus- 
covy, originated from 

the wild Mallard duck. 

The Muscovy duck is 

quite distinct from all 

others and its origin is not definitely known, but is believed 

to have been in Peru. This breed is rather bad-tempered. 

Geese. — Geese have 
not received much at- 
tention by poultrymen 
and the different breeds 
are not very distinct. 
There are five popular 
breeds : Toulouse, Emb- 
den, Chinese, African, 
and Wild, or Canada, 
Goose. The last-named 
has not been fully do- 
mesticated and has to 
A TOULOUSE GANDER bc kcpt confiued. With 

First prize at Madison Square Garden, ^y.^ ovrxi^i-ifi'rkn nf fVio 

New York City. Poultry Show tnc CXCCptlOn 01 tUC 




346 



AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



Wild Goose, the different breeds of geese originated in the 
Old World. The Toulouse and Embden are most popular. 

The production of geese 
for commercial pur- 
poses is on the increase 
in the United States. 

Turkeys. — The only 
domestic animal on the 
farm of strictly Ameri- 
can origin is the turkey. 
There are three species 
of wild turkeys in Amer- 
ica: 1. A species found 
mainly in the north- 
eastern United States 
and now almost extinct. 

2. A species in Mexico. 

3. A species in Hondu- 
ras and Central Amer- 
ica. It is believed that 
the Mexican variety 
was carried to England 

and Spain by the early explorers and later brought back 
again by the early colonists. With these common turkeys 
the northern wild turkey interbred and from the cross 
the Bronze turkey was originated. This is the largest and 
most popular variety of turkeys. The other breeds are the 
Narragansett, Black, White Holland, Buff, and Bourbon Red. 
The last three are also popular and are valuable market birds. 
Guineas and Peafowls. — The guinea came from western 
Africa. There are two varieties, the Pearl and the White. 




90. 



A BRONZE TURKEY 



POULTRY 347 

The White is a sport from the Pearl. There is a growing de- 
mand for guineas in the markets of large cities to supply the 
demand for game birds. The guinea flesh has a flavor not 
easily distinguished from that of grouse or pheasant. A few 
guineas on the farm, by reason of the noise which they make, 
are a good protection from hawks and chicken thieves. 

The Peafowl has no commercial value whatever and is 
kept entirely as an ornament. 



CHAPTER XLVII 
CARE OF POULTRY 

1. Hatching. — The first step in the production of young 
poultry is to have fertile eggs. The best eggs for hatching 
are obtained in the spring months, as this is the natural mat- 
ing season for birds. Egg3 from birds which have plenty of 
range for exercising usually hatch better than those from 
confined birds. Proper feeding is also important, but this 
will be spoken of in another paragraph. In poultry-raising 
as with all other live stock, the breeding animals should be 
the best that can be had and they should be in perfect health. 

There are two methods of hatching, the natural and the 
artificial. The natural method is the one commonly used on 
the farm and consists in giving eggs to the hen and allowing 
her to sit on them the necessary length of time. The period 
of incubation is as follows:, chickens, 21 days; ducks, 26 
days; geese, 30 days; turkeys, 27 to 29 days; and guineas 
26 to 28 days. Fresh eggs will hatch a little earlier than eggs 
not fresh. The chicken hen is often used for hatching the 
eggs of the other kinds of poultry, although it is usually best 
to let the turkey hen hatch her own eggs. 

Artificial incubation, is done in an incubator. This is a 
specially constructed box having compartments into which 
the eggs are put. These are kept warm by an oil lamp. The 
temperature used is 103° F., this being the temperature of 

348 



CARE OF POULTRY 349 

a sitting hen. Incubators are of all sizes and are used mainly 
by persons raising poultry on a large scale. Directions for 
operating the incubator are always supplied by the manufact- 
urer and should be closely followed. 

In the natural method the little chicks are cared for and 
kept warm by the hen, but in the artificial method the young 




91. AN INCUBATOR 



chicks must be kept warm by an artificial mother, called a 
brooder. Brooders are variously constructed, but are usually 
of two parts, one warmed by an oil lamp, for sleeping, and 
another warmed by the sun through glass, for a runway. 
After the chicks are a few weeks old they can get along with- 
out extra heat. There has recently been invented a brooder 
known as the ''lampless" brooder. It keeps the chicks warm 



CARE OF POULTRY 351 

without artificial heat and is being used successfully by many 
poultrymen. 

2. Housing. — All kinds of poultry do best when they have 
full liberty, as this is their natural state, but it is often neces- 
sary to keep them yarded. In such cases there should be many 
yards and few fowls in a flock. Not more than 25 chickens 
should be kept together, and 15 is a better number. A house 
having a floor measurement of 10 by 12 feet and a runway 
of 20 by 100 feet is desirable for such a flock. In locating 
houses and yards one should seek a southern exposure. This 
gives the largest amount of sunshine and shields somewhat 
from the winds. The houses and yards should have good 
drainage and be kept thoroughly clean. It is difficult to keep 
chickens that are penned up free from lice. Dusting-boxes 
filled with road dust should be provided. A large box accom- 
modating several hens at a time is best. The hens should 
also be dusted with insect powder occasionally. During the 
summer, if hens have freedom, they will provide their own 
dusting-places, but in winter even free hens should have a 
box of dust. 

The chicken mite is also a troublesome insect. Unlike the 
louse, the mite stays on the roosting-place in the daytime and 
feeds on the bodies at night. Painting the roosts with some 
one of the coal-tar dips will destroy the mite. 

3. Feeding. — In the feeding of poultry, as in the feeding of 
other live stock, the general principles mentioned in the chap- 
ter on Feeding apply. Young birds and laying hens need 
a ration with a narrow nutritive ratio, while fattening birds 
require a ration having a wide nutritive ratio. Laying hens 
should have grain, vegetables, and animal food. During 
summer, if they have freedom, the hens will supply their own 



352 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

vegetable food from the grass and their animal food from the 
insects which they can catch. Some mixed grain consisting 
of corn, kafir corn, and millet seed should be fed in addition. 
In winter the vegetables can be supplied from cabbage and 
beets and the animal food from beef scrap. The grain feed 
in winter can be largely of corn, but wheat screenings, kafir 
corn, oats, and millet seed should also be given. During cold 
weather a mash made from equal parts of corn-meal and 




93. THIS DOZEN OF BLACK MINORCA EGGS WON THE FIRST 

PRIZE AT THE LEBANON, IND., EGG SHOW, 1908. 

THEY WEIGHED 32^ OUNCES 

wheat bran and a small quantity of beef scrap is a good feed 
for morning. All poultrymen prefer to feed grain in the 
evening. For hens kept in confinement such food as they 
could get when running at large should be supplied as fully 
as possible. Confined hens should have access to plenty of 
sand and gravel. Ground oyster-shells and cracked charcoal 
are also essential. Hens running at large can supply them- 
selves with grit, but the oyster-shells and charcoal should 
be at hand for them also. When grain is fed it should be 
thrown into straw or leaves, especially in winter, so that the 
hens will have to scratch for it. This gives them exercise 
and warms them up. Fresh and clean water is one of the 



CARE OF POULTRY 353 

most essential things for laying hens. It is surprising how 
much water hens drink when they can get it. Skim-milk 
is excellent. It may be said in this connection that hens 
which have plenty of exercise rarely get too fat to lay. A 
poor hen never lays eggs. Unless a hen is well fed she should 
not be expected to lay eggs. 

During the autumn months, usually September and Octo- 
ber, chickens moult, that is, shed their feathers and get new 
ones. At this time hens do not lay eggs, but they should be 
carefully fed just the same. Plenty of green feed should be 
given; also, beef scrap, meat, or green ground bone. It is 
desirable to get them through the moulting season as soon as 
possible so that they will begin laying eggs. Eggs at this 
season always command a high price. 

The sitting hen is put to a severe strain to provide the 
necessary heat for keeping her eggs at the proper temperature 
and she needs food which is heat-producing, that is, food 
having a large proportion of starch and fat. Corn is one of 
the best feeds. Other feeds should also be supplied. Plenty 
of clean water, grit, and dust should be provided. 

Poultrymen have different opinions as to the best method 
of feeding young chicks, but all agree that no feed should be 
given for thirty-six hours after the chick is hatched. When 
the chick is hatched its digestive tract is full of the yolk of 
the egg, and this supplies its wants for some time. Some 
poultrymen would give as the first feed something soft, like 
corn-meal wet; others prefer dry feed, like mixed grains 
cracked fine, or dry rolled oats. In a few days small grains 
and cracked. corn can be fed. Whole wheat, cracked corn, 
and skim-milk are standard feeds for young chicks. As soon 
as*' feathered out," they can be fed much the same as mature 



354 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 

chickens. Of course, plenty of water, grit, and charcoal are 
necessities. 

The natural food of ducks is vegetable and animal and al- 
ways in the soft state. The duck has no crop and the food 
passes directly to the gizzard. Food for young ducklings at 
first should be cracker or bread crumbs and corn-meal 
moistened. In a few days a mixture of bran, corn-meal, 
rolled oats, and beef scrap may be given. Some sand may 
be mixed with the feed to good advantage. Green feed like 
grass and clover should be plentifully supplied. Ducks will 
do well without water to swim in. 

Goslings also require soft feed. Their first food should be 
grass, fed on the sod;* then corn-meal, moistened, with a 
little sand and charcoal mixed in. After the goslings are 
four or five days old they can be allowed to roam where they 
will, but they should continue to receive soft food . like corn- 
meal and wheat bran mixed and cooked. Geese are naturally 
grass-eaters, and a pasture or orchard is where they do best. 
A patch of rape is most excellent for geese. So also is clover. 

Young turkeys are very delicate and must be carefully 
protected from wet grass and rain until they are about six or 
seven weeks old. Soft feed is best also for young turkeys. 
Stale bread or corn bread dipped in milk is excellent. When 
the grass is dry they should have plenty of range to catch in- 
sects. After they are six weeks or more old they can eat any- 
thing that is good for chickens. Turkeys need plenty of 
range to do well. 

One thing should be kept in mind concerning the feeding 
of all young poultry — the feed should be fresh and free from 
all sourness, 

* Farmers' Bulletin No. 64. 



I 



APPENDICES 



356 



APPENDIX 



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APPENDIX B 

REFERENCE BOOKS 

For more extended information on the topics discussed in this book, 
the following authorities may be consulted, ail of which and many more 
were used in the preparation of this work: 

SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 

The Soil— F. H. King, Macmillan Co. 

Soils— C. W. Burkett, Orange Judd Co. 

Soils— S. W. Fletcher, Doubleday, Page & Co. 

Soils and Fertilizers — Harry Snyder, Macmillan Co. 

Fertilizers — E. B. Vorhees, Macmillan Co. 

Agriculture, Vol. I — Wm. Brooks, Home Correspondence School. 

Irrigation and Drainage — F. H. King, Macmillan Co. 

FARM CROPS 

The Cereals in America — Thos. H. Hunt, Orange Judd Co. 

Forage and Fibre Crops — Thos. H. Hunt, Orange Judd Co. 

Forage Crops — E. B. Vorhees, Macmillan Co. 

Farm Grasses in United States — W. J. Spillman, Orange Judd Co. 

Clovers — Thos. Shaw, Orange Judd Co. 

Forage Crops — Thos. Shaw, Orange Judd Co. 

Grasses — Thos. Shaw, Orange Judd Co. 

Soiling Crops — Thos. Shaw, Orange Judd Co. 

Agriculture, Vol. II — Wm. Brooks, Home Correspondence School. 

The Book of Corn — Herbert Myrick, et al. Orange Judd Co. 

HORTICULTURE 

The Principles of Fruit Growing — L. H. Bailey, Macmillan Co. 
The Pruning Book — L. H. Bailey, Macmillan Co. 
Vegetable Gardening — S. B. Green, Webb Publishing Co. 

360 



APPENDIX 361 

Bush Fruits— F. W. Card, Macmillan Co. 

The Spraying of Plants — E. G. Lodeman, Macmillan Co. 

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 

Types and Breeds of Live Stock — C. S. Plumb, Ginn & Co. 
Breeds of Live Stock — Thos. Shaw, Orange Judd Co. 
Domestic Animals — Shaler, Ginn & Co. 
Farm Animals — Wilcox and Smith, Doubleday, Page & Co. 
Animal Breeding — Thos. Shaw, Orange Judd Co. 
Principles of Breeding — E. Davenport, Ginn & Co. 
Agriculture, Vol. Ill — Wm. Brooks, Home Correspondence School. 
Feeding Animals — W. H. Jordan, Macmillan Co. 
Feeding Farm Animals — Thos. Shaw, Orange Judd Co. 
Profitable Stock Feeding — H. R. Smith, Published by the Author. 
Feeds and Feeding — W. A. Henry, Published by the Author. 
Farm Poultry — Geo. C. Watson, l^lacmillan Co. 

The Perfected Poultry of America — McGrew and Howard, Howard 
Publishing Co. 

DAIRYING 

Milk and Its Products— H. H. Wing, Macmillan Co. 

Elements of Dairying — John H. Decker, Published by the Author. 

Canadian Dairying — H. H. Dean, Wm. Briggs, Toronto. 

Principles and Practice of Butter-Making — McKay and Larsen, Wiley 

and Sons. 
Testing Milk — Farrington and Woll, Mendota Publishing Co. 

BEES 

How to Keep Bees — Anna B. Comstock, Doubleday, Page & Co. 
A. B. C. of Beekeeping — A. I. Root Publishing Co., Medina, O. 
Bulletin 1, Division of Entomology — U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

CYCLOPEDIAS 

Cyclopedia of American Horticulture, 4 Vols. — L. H. Bailey, Mac- 
millan Co. 

Cyclopedia of American Agriculture, 4 Vols — L. H. Bailey, Mac- 
millan Co. 



362 APPENDIX 

Farmers' Cyclopedia of Agriculture— Wilcox and Smith, Orange Judd 



Co. 



Also, consult the various bulletins of the State Experiment 
Stations and of the United States Department of Agriculture. 



APPENDIX C 

EDUCATION AND AGRICULTURE 
READING 

Reading stands first in the course of study because it fur- 
nishes the key that unlocks the door to so many subjects. 
Its work is interpretation, which may be merely mechanical or 
deeply significant. The child comes to school with an ear 
vocabulary, and reading must help him translate this into an 
eye vocabulary. This is the mechanical side of the subject 
and is merely the means to the real end. The printed words 
that he learns must become the symbols of deeply significant 
ideas. Indeed, reading pushes naturally over into the realm 
of art, and interpretation includes an appreciation of the har- 
mony existing between the truth expressed and the form of its 
expression. The justification of the use of high-grade litera- 
ture in our readers is found here. 

The teacher is reminded that here the every-day experi- 
ences of the child with all his imagery must be employed in 
the interpretation. The child's world must furnish the basis 
of his choice in reading. The end is to train the child to read 
understand ingly and, when he reads orally, in a way to be 
understood. The ability to read is the most essential of all 
the tools that the school furnishes. There are two phases 
of reading which must be emphasized, each of which may 
be closely related to the life of the child on the farm. In the 

363 



364 APPENDIX 

first place, the teacher may set it down as unqualifiedly true 
that the child cannot be taught to read from a text-book 
alone. Natural expression can come only out of his own 
life. The child in the first and second grades must furnish 
his own reading lesson out of the abundance of his own ex- 
periences and he must tell it in his own way. If he feels 
that he has the complete sympathy of the teacher, he may 
give the fullest, most natural expression to some childish 
experience, and when the teacher has written his story on 
the board may be made to realize that the language is the 
symbol of his actual experience. 

The assignment, therefore, must find its first subject-mat- 
ter in the child's world. Then, after the child has learned to 
read, and has become mature enough to read real works of 
literature, the teacher should still make his choice of reading- 
matter reflect the life of the child. The poetry of nature and 
the prose of farm and field should be chosen in part, at least, 
because in these the child will find himself and will realize 
that his world is recognized. The country boy and girl 
possess the imagery with which to interpret Shakespeare, 
Wordsworth, Gray, Thomson, Burns, Bryant, and Whittier. 
It is their 

** Knowledge never learned of schools 
Of the wild bee's morning chase, 
Of the wild flower's time and place, 

Flight of fowl and habitude 

Of the tenants of the wood" 

that makes it possible for them to appreciate the beauty of the 
masterpiece at its full value. 

Whittier's " Barefoot Boy " is a good type of the material 
that should be used in the reading work of the country school. 



APPENDIX 365 

In assigning it the teacher should try to use the fullest ex- 
perience of the children in its interpretation. Some such 
points as the following may be emphasized : 

Read the whole poem. What is the principal thought run- 
ning through it? Do you think Whittier had experienced 
what he is talking about? Why do you think so? Indicate 
the parts of the poem which describe experiences you have 
had. Classify each experience under the sense through which 
it came. Which experiences are most vividly portrayed ? 
Through which sense did these come ? Do you like the poem ? 
Indicate the parts you like best. Try to tell why you like 
these particular passages. 

It is said that farmers have no sense of the aesthetic; that 
they look on the daisy and the vine merely as troublesome 
weeds. If this is true it ought not to be so, because out- 
door beauty may be counted as one of the chief assets of 
country life. In developing a love for nature the rural school 
has a decided advantage over the city school. 

spelling 

Spelling cannot be taught incidentally. It must 
have the systematic attention of the teacher as a 
separate subject and his constant care in all his 
WRITTEN WORK. While oral spelling is helpful in fixing 
forms, written spelling must receive the larger stress be- 
cause of its importance in writing the language. The eye 
rather than the ear must be trained. Constant drill in 
writing the correct form of a word serves to fix it in the 
mind. 

The life of the children should supplement the Spelling- 
Book in the matter of spelling lessons. Each community has 



366 APPENDIX 

its own vocabulary. There is a farm vocabulary, and it is 
essential that the children should learn to use it accurately 
and intelligently. The home life should dictate the point of 
departure, and the community vocabulary should be utilized. 
The assignments may from day to day call for lists of ten 
or twenty words covering the entire range of life in the 
community. The teacher may ask the class to hand in a 
list of ten words that are names of kitchen utensils. Suppose 
there are five children in the class and the teacher finds that 
twenty different words have been named. Such a device 
furnishes the fairest test of the child's ability to spell these 
words because he suggests them to himself and is not aided 
by having them pronounced. The teacher should correct 
the lists and hand them back. Then the list of the twenty 
different words should be used as a spelling lesson and made 
a part of a permanent list, the words in which are not to be 
repeated in the future exercises of making a community vo- 
cabulary. Then, in turn, lists in other of the home depart- 
ments, lists in all the industrial departments covering every 
phase of farm life, lists covering the vocabulary of the social, 
the civil or governmental, the religious, and the school life of 
the community should be made. Spelling may thus become 
a usable tool for the child. 

The assignment may take another form and accomplish 
the same purpose. Suppose the teacher has it in mind to 
teach inductively the definition of synonym. He may write 
the following assignment on the board : 

Farmer; grower; cultivator; agriculturist; husbandman. 

1. Pronounce these words. 

2. Give the meaning of each. 

3. Use one of these words in a sentence. 



APPENDIX 367 

4. Substitute as many words as possible for this word in 
this sentence. 

5. Upon what basis may these words be classified ? 

6. Think of a name or word that appropriately expresses 
words classified on such a basis. 

7. State what is meant by such words. 

The following group of farm words could be used in the 
same way: Cultivate, till, prepare, work, manure, plow, 
dress, sow. 

The teacher may ask the class to write and use in sentences 
the names of all the parts of the reaping-machine. Or the 
teacher may suggest the following list and ask the class to 
use the words properly in sentences: Reaper, harvester, 
knife, finger, finger-bar, rake, reel, platform, dropper, binder, 
wire, twine, arm, sheaf, grain, bundle. The spelling work 
must be made to mean something. 

ARITHMETIC 

The main objects to be secured in the study of arithmetic 
are the ability to think number; the acquisition of skill, 
rapidity, and accuracy in the use of numbers required in or- 
dinary business transactions; and the development of power 
in the application of the processes to the solution of all classes 
of problems. While the importance of this subject in the 
elementary school should be emphasized, it should not be so 
exaggerated as to deprive other subjects of their due share of 
attention. The work should be made intensive rather than 
extensive; the number of topics should be diminished and 
greater stress put upon those that are studied. 

In teaching arithmetic the work should be made as con- 
crete as possible. The problems in the book may be supple- 



368 APPENDIX 

merited by the introduction of a large number bearing upon 
the environment and interests of the pupils. The household, 
the farm, the shop, the market, the trade, will furnish ma- 
terial, and the prices and conditions should be the real ones 
rather than the fancied ones of the books. The teacher should 
take from the actual business world, the tax office, the bank, 
the insurance office, the store, actual business transactions 
and make these the basis of the problems used. The actual 
market-price of a commodity with the actual amount bought 
and sold by an actual person will give reality to a problem. 

In studying arithmetic the pupil should count the things at 
hand rapidly and accurately. The trees in a certain space, 
the rows of corn in a field, the number of shocks of wheat 
or corn, the number of rows on an ear of corn, the number 
of grains in a row and on the ear, the number of pupils in a 
row of seats, the number of rows, the number of pupils in the 
room, the number in the building — all objects at hand should 
be used. The very fact that they are at hand, and that the 
pupil is doing the work with them, will lend interest to the 
study. 

The same material and data used in counting may be used 
in teaching addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. 
The child ought to be led to discover that these processes are 
quicker than counting and why this is so. In a room with 
so many rows of seats, and so many seats in a row, he 
ought to discover shortly the way to find the whole number 
of seats without counting them. He should be led to make 
a map or plot of the room, of the corn field, of the wheat field 
and its shocks; he should measure accurately the school- 
house, the home, the field, and the farm. He should find out 
by actual work how corn, and wheat, and potatoes, and hay 



APPENDIX 369 

are measured and sold, and what is the actual selling-price 
from day to day. He should find out about butter, and eggs, 
and wool. Let him discover which would be fairer, to sell 
eggs by the dozen or by the pound. Let him find out how 
much corn the soil in his school district will produce to the 
acre, how many acres were in corn last year, and how much 
corn was produced. 

Nor is it a boy's problem alone. There are quarts of milk 
and pounds of butter, and yards of goods, and curtains and 
carpets and scores of things for the practical housekeeper to 
know about. These actual numbers that the children have 
counted and collected and experienced are alive to them, 
and can be used in every step in arithmetic. As the work 
advances it should be made more and more constructive. 
Every principle should have concrete application. Actual 
fields should be measured by actual chains and plotted accu- 
rately to a definite scale. Actual fields of wheat and oats and 
corn should be estimated, and actual bins should be meas- 
ured to determine their capacity. At every step of the way 
the pupil should be led to construct his problem and to look at 
actual conditions. The things at hand in every community, 
the occupations that are dominant, the interests that are 
prominent, — these are the means of education. 

It is not a question of teaching arithmetic in the abstract, 
but of teaching particular children arithmetic in the concrete. 
The problem is not to instruct in arithmetic; it is to teach 
children with this setting to think number accurately and 
rapidly, and to apply principles under actual conditions. 
With this idea the text with its pages and problems disap- 
pears and in its stead come fundamental arithmetical prin- 
ciples which the teacher is to lead the children to master.. 



370 APPENDIX 

The child thus becomes the determining factor at every 
step of the way. It is upon what he can furnish as a basis of 
interpretation that the teacher must depend. In making his 
assignments in arithmetic, then, the teacher will see to it that 
the child always finds himself in these assignments. 

Some members of the class may be assigned special prob- 
lems more or less closely related to the principle in question. 
The following are suggested: (1) On October 6, 1907, hogs 
were quoted in the Chicago market at $6.60 a hundred; they 
showed an average daily decline of 7 cents a hundred between 
October 6 and November 25; what was the quotation on 
November 25 ? (2) What per cent, of the original price was 
the decline ? (3) I found the length of a fence around a lot 
to be four miles, 100 rods, and 4 yards; counting each step 
that I took in measuring the fence 27 inches, how many steps 
did I take ? (4) From November 15 to November 30, John^s 
cow gave 63 gallons and 3 quarts of milk; what was the daily 
average ? (5) If a pint of milk weighs a pound, how many 
pounds of milk does John's cow give in a day ? (6) Is- the 
quantity of milk John's cow gives above or below the average 
for a good cow ? Base your answer upon actual data. (See 
Bulletin No. 127, Indiana Experiment Station.) 

For the class in percentage the following problems are sug- 
gested as a type for supplementary work: (1) If a farmer in 
Alabama increased his acreage yield of sweet potatoes from 
35 bushels to 250 bushels, what was the per cent, of increase ? 
(2) In a space for a shock of corn 12 by 12 hills there are 
420 stalks of corn; 21 stalks had no corn in them — i. e., they 
were sterile; what per cent, of the stalks yielded corn ? (3) 
With a loss of 10 per cent, from sterile stalks the yield is 63 
bushels per acre; what would the yield have been with no 



APPENDIX 371 

sterile stalks ? (4) With corn at 40 cents a bushel, what was 
the loss in money ? (5) Select 10 ears of corn November first 
and weigh them; weigh them again the first week in January, 
the first week in March, and the first week in April; com- 
pute the per cent, of loss at each weighing. (6) If corn can 
be marketed in the fall at 35 cents a bushel, would it pay to 
keep it till March and sell it for 40 cents a bushel ? Why ? 
(7) What per cent, do potatoes lose from digging time to the 
first of April ? In making a test see if varieties differ. (8) 
A cow gives 625 pounds of milk a month; the milk tests 
3.9 per cent, butter-fat; how many pounds of butter-fat were 

produced ? 

GEOGRAPHY 

During the first three years no text is used in geography. 
However, no subject in the school course lends itself more 
completely to expression and construction in teaching than 
geography. The material is at the very door of the school- 
house in abundance. Hills and valleys, springs, brooks and 
rivers, capes, bays, peninsulas and islands, flora and fauna, 
the hand of nature and the hand of civilization, the book of 
geography is open for him who can read. If the teacher has 
SEEN, the joy of making the children see awaits him. If he 
has NOT SEEN, all this wealth is a closed book. 

The central thought in geography is location. The law 
of distribution is the significant thing. One of the most 
important things is to get right notions and impressions re- 
garding direction and distance, and with it to be able to read 
maps. The best way to get such right notions and images is 
through constructive work in early childhood, and the best 
place is the school-house, with its environment. First, make 
a map of the school-house, plotting it accurately, with one- 



372 



APPENDIX 



eighth or one-fourth of an inch to the foot as the scale. 
Locate accurately everything in the room. Next, make such 
a map of the school grounds. Extend the work to the dis- 
trict, and locate hills, valleys, streams, farms, houses, accu- 
rately. Study all farms at first hand and put them in their 
proper places. With all this the child will be prepared to 
answer intelligently how these farms came to be where they 
are and the effect their location has had on the life about them. 
With such constructive work at home the child will have a 
basis for comprehending the larger world. This construc- 
tive work could not begin before the third year, probably, 
and could not be completed before the eighth. The one 
thing the teacher needs to do is to make an intelligent use 
of the material at hand. 

This method places much emphasis upon the use of the 
neighborhood for developing geographical notions. This is 
the centre of the child's world, and the work in geography 
should begin here instead of in some far-off place. The things 
close at hand should become a help in the interpretation of 
earth facts farther removed. The data at hand must suggest 
when to begin. Select the best types and make the assign- 
ment definite and exhaustive. Perhaps there is a good type 
of spring at hand. Lead the pupils to see all the conditions 
present. See if they can formulate a spring theory. See if 
they can think of other conditions than those present from 
which a spring might be formed. Does the spring here have 
an outlet ? What becomes of the spring thus formed ? 
Perhaps the spring has no visible outlet. What then ? 

The district or community may furnish other types of 
springs. If so hunt them up with the children. The point is 
to have these earth facts teach a complete lesson. It will take 



APPENDIX 373 

time, but If every child can be led to see the facts at hand 
and from them to draw sound conclusions he will have 
begun to think. One such lesson is worth more in his educa- 
tion than mechanically memorizing the whole text in geog- 
raphy would be. 

EXCURSIONS 

This kind of instruction, and, in fact, much of the later 
study of geography, requires an occasional excursion. Yet it 
is well to keep in mind that properly conducted excursions 
require an unusual degree of energy and skill on the part of 
the teacher. The children may easily mistake such an outing 
for a picnic, and thus bring disaster to the teacher and to the 
cause. On the other hand, the ability to conduct an excur- 
sion well is one of the best tests of an able teacher. 



INDEX 



Acid phosphate, 59 
Agriculture, defined, 137 
Air-drainage, 138 
Alfalfa, 109, 110 
A.nthracnose, 208 
Apple, the, 155 

twig blight of, 209 
Apricot, the, 160 
Arid regions, 30 
Artichokes, 102 
Ashes, as fertilizers, 60 
Asparagus, 179 
Atavism, 272 

Babcock test, 326 

Bacteria, denitrifying, 14; in 
cream, 311; in milk, 299; in 
soil, 13 

Bagasse, 120 

Balanced ration, 281 

Barley, culture, 91, 92; harvesting, 
92; history, 91; varieties, 92 

Beans, 173 

Bee-glue, 335 

Bees, drone, 333; hives for, 336; 
life history of, 331, 332, 333; 
locations for, 330; number in 
swarm of, 31 ; queen, 331, 332, 
333; races of, 331; swarming, 
338; winter protection for, 
337; worker, 332 

Beet pulp, 120 

Beetles, 195 

Birds, 200, 201 

Blackberry, the, 164 

Blights, 208, 209, 210 



Bloody milk, 298 

Bordeaux mixture, 208, 211 

Borers, 195 

Breeding animals, care of, 270 

Broom corn, 122, 123 

Buckwheat, 94 

Bulbs, examples of, 66; explained, 
65; ornamental, 186 

Burro, 226 

Butter, 310; composition of, 318; 
preparing for market, 318; 
renovated or process, 324; 
salting, 317; sour-cream, 311; 
sweet-cream, 311; use of but- 
ter color in, 315; washing, 
316; water allowed by law in, 
318; working, 317 

Butter-fat, definition, 235; testing 
for, 326; things affecting, 296 

Butter-milk, 315 

Cabbage-like plants, 174 

Canadian field peas, 118 

Carbohydrates, 277 

Carrots, 96 

Catalo, 232 

Catch crop defined, 113 

Caterpillars, 196, 197 

Cattle, beef type, 227; blue-gray, 
232 
breeds of — 

Aberdeen Angus, 230; Ayr- 
shire, 238; Brown Swiss, 242; 
Devon, 240; Dutch Belted, 
239; French Canadian, 240; 
Galloway, 231 ; Guernsey, 236; 



375 



376 



INDEX 



Cattle — Continued 

Hereford, 229; Holstein-Fries- 
ian, 237; Jersey, 234; Kerry, 
239; Longhorn, 233; Polled 
Durham, 229, 240; Red 
Polled, 241; Shorthorn, 228, 
240; Sussex, 233; West High- 
land, 232; classes of, 227; 
dairy type, 233; dual-purpose 
type, 240; history, 227 

Celeriac, 180 

Celery, 179 

Cereals, 64 

Cheese, cheddar, 320, 321, 322; 
composition of, 319; cottage, 
319; kinds of, 322 323; lim- 
burger, 323 

Cherry, the, 158 

Chickens, classes of — 

American, 341; Asiatic, 341 
English, 342; French, 343 
Games, 343; Hamburg, 343 
Mediterranean, 342; miscel- 
laneous, 344; ornamental, 
344; Polish, 343; feeding, 351- 
353; chicken mite, 351 ; moult- 
ing, 353; standard variety, 
explained, 339 

Chinch bug, 198 

Churning, effect of, 314 

Churns, 315 

Clover, alsike, 108; crimson, 108; 
mammoth, 107; red, 106 

Codhng moth, 192 

Cold-frame, construction of, 171 

Colostrum, 297 

Commercial fertihzer, classes, 55; 
complete, 55; definition, 55; 
effect on soil, 63; how ap- 
plied, 62 

Compost heap, 168 

Condensed milk, 323 

Copper sulphate, 212 

Corn, average yield, 79; cultiva- 
tion, 71, 72; for forage, 115; 



for silage, 115; for soiling, 119; 
harvesting, 73; history, 67 
kinds — 

dent, 68; flint, 68; pod, 69; 
pop, 69; soft, 69; sweet, 68, 
178 
planting, 71; preparing for 
planter, 79; preparation of 
seed-bed, 70; saving seed, 74; 
selecting seed ears, 77; smut, 
208; soil for, 70; testing, 74, 
76, 77; variations in, 69 

Corn-belt states, 67 

Correlation, 273 

Cotton, 126-128 

Cotton-seed meal, 57 

Cow-peas, 95, 111 

Cream, definition, 304; methods of 
separation, 304-307; methods 
of souring, 312; pasteuriza- 
tion, 313; preparing for the 
churn, 310-314; reasons for 
souring, 311; ripening, 311, 
312, 314; temperature at 
churning, 316 

Crocus, 186 

Cross-breeding, 260 

Crude fibre, 277 

Cucumbers, 177 

Cultivation, defined, 44; depth of, 
46; for corn, 71, 72; for con- 
trolling insects, 202; for pota- 
toes, 101; number of cultiva- 
tions, 46; objects of, 44; 
moisture saved by, 45 

Cultivators, kinds, 47 

Culture, defined, 67 

Currant, the, 161 

Cut worm, 191 

Dahlia, 187 

Dairying, adaptable breeds for, 
293; cleanliness in 292, 299- 
303; definition of, 290 



INDEX 



377 



Dewberry, the, 164 

Diffusion, 23 

Digestibility, coefficient of, 278 

Disking, purpose of, 42, 43 

Dissolved bone, 59 

Donkey, 225 

Double standard, 229 

Drainage, 25, 27 

Drains, 24, 25, 29 

Dried blood, 55 

Dry farming, 32 

Ducks, 344, 354 

Fallowing, 48 

Farm animals, explained, 213 

Farm crops, classification of, 164 

Farm manures, "cold," 49; com- 
posting, 168; factors affecting 
value of, 49; for gardens, 168; 
"hot," 49; how to apply, 52, 
53; how to preserve, 50; kinds 
of, 49; lasting effect of, 54; 
losses from exposure, 51; 
losses from heating, 51; 
sources of, 49 

Fat, 277 

Feeding, affecting butter-fat, 296; 
dry feed for, 288; grinding and 
cooking for, 288; pasturing, 
286; selecting feeders for, 283 
-286; soiling, 287; standards, 
282; terms used in, 274-282 

Feeding stuffs, 274, 279, 280 

Fibre crops, 66, 123 

Fish fertilizers, 57 

Flax, 124 

Flooding, 33 

Flowers for ornament, 186, 187, 
188 

Fodder, explained, 73, 115 

Foundation stock, explained, 220, 
267; healthy animals for, 270; 
mature animals for, 269; pedi- 
greed, 269; well-bred animals 
for, 267 



Food elements returned in excre- 
ment, 49 

Forage crops, 66, 105 

Forage, defined, 66 

P>uits, classification of , 138; pome, 
155; small, 161; stone, 158; 
tree, 155; vine, 160 

Furrows, kinds of, 39, 40 

Garden, 166, 167 
Geese, 345, 354 
German potash mines, 60 
Gladiolus, 187 
Gluten, 80, 81 
Goats, 254, 255 
Gooseberry, the, 162 
Gourd family, the, 175 
Grading up, how done, 268 
Grafting wax, 145 
Grape, the, 160 
Greenhouse, 171 
Green manuring, 54 
Grub worms, 196 
Guanos, 57 
Guineas, 346 

Harrowing, purpose of, 41 

Harrows, kinds of, 41 

Hay, making clover, 107; making 
timothy, 106; plants used for, 
105 

Heading in, 153 

Hellebore, white, 203 

Hemp, 125 

Herd books, 222 

Heredity, 272 

Hessian fly, 85, 192, 202 

Hoed corp, 146 

Home grown seed, 131 

Honey, amount made by a colony, 
336; extracted, 336; how col- 
lected, 334; ripening, 334; 
source of, 334 

Horses, breeds of— 

American Trotter, 221 •, Bel- 



378 



INDEX 



Horses — Continued 

gian, 217; Cleveland Bay, 
219; Clydesdale, 216; French 
Coach, 218; German Coach, 
218; Hackney, 218; Perche- 
ron, 215; Shire, 216; Suffolk 
217; Thoroughbred, 220 
gaits of, 223; history of, 213; 
pacer, the, 221; roadster, 
the, 222; types of, 214 

Horticulture, explained, 137 

Hot-bed, construction of, 169 

Humid regions, 30 

Humus, 10 

Ice-cream, 323 

Incubation, period of, 348 

Incubator, 348 

Indirect fertilizers, 61 

Insects, controlling, 200; damage 
by, 189; life history of, 189; 
parasitic, 198, 200 

Irrigation, amount of water used 
in, 31; definition, 30; for rice, 
93; from streams, 33; from 
wells, 33; reasons for, 31; 
where needed, 30 

June-bug, 196 

Kafir corn, 118 

Kainit, 60 

Kerosene emulsion, 204 

Lactometer, 325 

Land plaster as a fertilizer, 61 

Landscape gardening, 181, 182, 

185 
Lawn, Making the, 181, 182 
Legumes, 13, 64 
Lettuce, 178 
Lily, 186 

Lime as a fertilizer, 61 
Limestone as a fertilizer, 61 
London purple, 203 



Mangel-wurtzels, 97 

Manures (see Farm manures) 

Manure spreader, 52 

Milk, abnormal, 298; aeration of, 
308; bacteria in, 299; bot- 
tling, 309; colostrum, 297; 
composition of, 295, 296; 
condensed, 323; cooling, 308; 
creaming, 303; definition of, 
294; disease germs in, 299; 
for city delivery, 307; milk 
serum, 296; pasteurization of, 
313; products, 319; secretion 
of, 294; skim-milk, 304; test- 
ing for butter-fat, 326; test- 
ing for water, 325; whole 
milk, 304 

Milk-powder, 323 

Millets, 93, 113, 114 

Mineral matter, 9 

Mohair, 254 

Mule, 225, 226 

Muriate of potash, 60 

Muskmelons, 176 

Nectarine, the, 160 

Nitrate of potash, 58 

Nitrate of soda, 58 

Nitrogen fertilizers, sources of, 55- 

58 
Nodules, 13 
Nutritive ratio, 281 

Oats, 88-90, 207 

Olericulture, explained, 166 

Onions, 103, 104 

Orchard, crops for, 146, 147; effect 
of slope of, 138, 139; location, 
138, 139; pruning the, 153, 
154; renovating, 154; select- 
ing trees for, 149; setting trees 
in, 150, 151, 152; tillage for, 
146, 147; top-grafting, 154 

Orchard grass, 106 

Organic matter, 9 



INDEX 



379 



Osmosis, 23 
Oyster-shells for hens, 352 

Paris green, 203 

Parsnips, 98 

Pasteurization, 313 

Pastures, 119, 286 

Peach, the, 159, 210 

Peafowl, the, 347 

Pear, the, 157 

Peas, 173 

Peccary, 257 

Phosphoric acid, sources of, 58, 59 

Plant diseases, 207 

Plant food, 11, 12, 23 

Plant-lice, 190 

Planting board, 151 

Plow, 34, 36 

Plowing, condition of soil for, 37 
in autumn, 38; in spring, 39 
for corn, 70; for wheat, 84 
purpose of, 37; subsoiling, 39 
terms used in, 36 

Plum, the, 158 

Plum curculio, 193 

Poisons for insects, 203, 205 

Pomology, defined, 138 

Ponies, 224, 225 

Potash, 60 

Potatoes, 99-101, 209 

Potato beetles, 195 

Potato family, the, 174 

Pot-herbs, 178 

Poultry, definition, 339; feeding, 
351-354; hatching, 348; hous- 
ing, 351; origin, 339 

Propagation of plants, by bud- 
ding, 142; by cuttings, 141; 
by grafting, 142, 144; by in- 
arching, 145;' by layering, 
140,141 byseeds, 140; in cold- 
frames, 169; in hot-beds, 169 

Protein, 275 

Pumpkins, 175 

Pyrethrum, 204 



Quince, the, 157 

Rape, 119, 120 

Raspberry, the, 162, 163 

Red top, 106 

Rennet, 319 

Renovated butter, 324 

Retting, 124 

Rhubarb, 180 

Rice, 92, 93 

Rock phosphate, 59 

Rolling, effect of, 43 

Roots, 65, 96, 97, 99 

Rose-chafer, 196 

Rotation, corn-belt, 135; defined, 
133; maintains fertility, 133, 
132; Norfolk, 135; object of, 
133; qualities of a good, 135, 
136; Terry, 135 

Rusts, 208 

Rye, 90, 91 

Salad plants, 178 

Salt, 61, 289, 317 

Scab, 211 

Scale insects, 190 

Seed corn selection, 74, 76, 77 

Seed plat, 132 

Seed selection, home-grown seed, 
131; importance of, 129, 172; 
for genuineness, 130; for pur- 
ity, 129; for vitality, 130; 
testing seed, 131, 132; use of 
seed plat, 132 

Separators, cream, 306 

Sheep, breeds of — 

American Merino, 251 ; Black- 
Faced Highland, 254; Cheviot 
250; Cotswold, 244; Delaine 
Merino, 252; Dorset Horn, 
249; Hampshire, 248; Kent, 
or Romney Marsh, 253; 
Leicester, 245; Lincoln, 245; 
Merino, 250; Oxford, 248,' 
Rambouillet Merino, 252; 



380 



INDEX 



Sheep — Continueu, 

Shropshire, 246; Southdown, 
247; Suffolk, 249; Tunis, 249; 
Wensleydale, 254; coarse- 
wooled, 243; fine-wooled, 250; 
history of, 243; medium- 
wooled, 246 

Silage, 115-117 

Silo, 115, 116 

Semi-arid regions, 30 

Smuts, 207 

Snakes, 201 

Soiling, 117, 287 

Soils, action of animals on, 4; ac- 
tion of plants on, 2; aeration 
of, 16; alkah, 32; alluvial, 6; 
bacteria in, 13; color of, 15; 
distribution, of 5; effect of 
the wind on, 5; for corn, 70; 
for oats, 88; for potatoes, 99, 
100; for wheat, 84; humus, 
10; kinds of, 9; life in, 13; 
loess, 7; origin of, 1; plant 
food in, 10, 11, 12; porosity 
of, 17; power to retain moist- 
ure, 21; sand dunes, 6; se- 
dentary, 5; transported, 5; 
transportation of, 16; wash- 
ing away of, 7; water in, 
17; weathering, 1; weight, 
15; wind formed, 6; work of 
glaciers, 6; work of water, 3 

Sorghum, 117 

Soy-beans, 95, 111, 112 

Sports, 162 

Squashes, 175, 176 

Stages in life of an insect, 189 

Starters, 312, 313 

Stover, defined, 73, 115 

Strawberry, the, 164 

Stud books, 222 

Subsoiling, 39 

Sugar beets, 98 

Sulphate of ammonia, 58 

Sulphate of potash, 60 



Superphosphate, 59 

Sweet potatoes, 102 

Swine, bacon type, 258 
breeds of — 

Berkshire, 259; Cheshire, 263; 
Chester White, 262; Chinese, 
266; Duroc- Jersey, 261; Essex 
264; Hampshire, 266; Large 
Yorkshire, 264; Neapolitan, 
266; Poland-China, 259; Small 
Yorkshire, 264; Suffolk, 264; 
Tamworth,266; Victoria, 263 
following cattle, 289; Jard type, 
257 

Systems of creaming, 305, 306 

Tankage, 56 

Temperature of soil, 16 

Teosinte, 115 

Terms used in breeding, 267, 268, 

272, 273 
Testing milk, composite samples 
for, 329; for adulteration, 325; 

for butter-fat, 326, 327, 328; 

taking samples for, 328 
Testing seeds, 131, 132 
Thinning, 157, 160, 161 
Tillage, defined, 34 
Tillering, 86 
Timothy, 105 
Toads, 201 
Tobacco, 121, 122 
Tobacco stems as fertilizers, 60 
Tomatoes, 175 
Top-grafting, 154 
Transplanting, 152, 171 
Trees for grounds, 185 * 

Truck patch, 166 
Tubers, 65, 186, 187 
Tulips, 186 
Turkeys, 346, 354 
Turnips, 99 

Variation, 273 
Vegetable, explained, 166 



INDEX 



381 



Vetches, 112 

Washing, before milking, 302; but- 
ter, 316; dairy utensils, 300 

Water, capillary, 19; capillary 
movement of, 20; evapora- 
tion of, 20; hydrostatic, 19; 
hygroscopic, 19; legal amount 
of, in butter, 318; percolation 
of, 20; surface, 19; transpira- 
tion of, 20; used by a corn 
plant, 45; used in irrigation, 31 

Watermelons, 177 

Wheat, bearded and smooth, 83; 
characteristics of bread 



wheats, 83; districts, 81; 
early plowing for, 84; effect 
of climate on, 80; gluten in, 
81; harvesting, 8G, 87; his- 
tory, 80; kinds of, 82; making 
a shock, 87; methods of sow- 
ing, 86; range of latitude, 80; 
rate of sowing, 86; red and 
white, 83; rusts, 208; seed- 
bed for, 84; selection of vari- 
eties, 84; smut, 208; soils for, 
84; sowing in corn, 85; sweat- 
ing of, 87; tillering, 86; time 
to sow, 85 
Wilts, 210 



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